My Marco
by darco
Summary: My version of what should happen in Season 7 in the world of Darco. First time writer, be gentle. Rated T to be safe for future chapters.
1. Subtle Ellie

**Author's Note**: This is my first fiction, I am not a writer really. I wanted to write this as a reaction to the Season 7 sneak preview with Marco, and what I think should happen with Darco. So please be gentle...

Not everything in this story will be 100 percent accurate, Degrassi wise. I have no idea if Marco really hates the cold, for instance. I am also writing this on the notion that the Eric in the previews is just someone on the newspaper staff with Ellie & Jesse, and not the Eric that broke Darco up.

* * *

I hated the cold. Weird, considering I've lived in Canada my whole life. I couldn't stand the freezing temperatures, or even the snow. Or maybe it was because the only thing that made me warm was in freezing cold Switzerland. 

I was walking up the stairs to the house, when I felt my cell vibrate. I took it out of my pocket and looked at it. It was a text from Dylan.

Ellie was walking in the living room as I came in. Putting down my bags on the table, I complained to Ellie about the text I just received.

"So Dylan just sent the lamest text. It says: 'hap ann m love -luv- d'," I tell her, exasperated. "Could that be any more abbreviated?"

I took my gloves off, and I thought I smelt pizza. "Why does it smell like pizza?" I questioned Ellie, confused.

"Because..we have guests." Ellie said, grinning.

"Hey Marco." I heard Jesse call from the kitchen. Crap. I was not in the mood for "guests." And since when is Jesse a guest? I really did not want to deal with this right now. I noticed someone behind Jesse.

"Eric and I were just doing some um, work." He explained as he approached me and Ellie. Eric? God I hate that name.

"Hey Marco." Eric smiled. I looked at him. Dude, braces, seriously.

I had only met this "Eric" once before, when he and Jesse had come over for some late night writing session. But I didn't care. That name just brought back to many memories. Bad memories.

I cringed. Something felt weird. I looked at Ellie, hoping for some kind of sign of what was going on.

"Jesse." One look at her and I knew where this was going. I shook my head, in disgust.

"I wanted to show you that-" She made some hand gesture towards the other room. "thing."

Jesse looked at her, clueless.

"Remember?" Ellie asked.

"Oh! Right, the thing," Jesse said, almost pointing his head to Eric. "I love things."

They left. "Well, that wasn't awkward."

--

I was lying on my bed trying to calm down I was so angry at Ellie. I had stormed up to my room and slammed the door and locked the door.

As I ran upstairs, I heard Jesse say, "I told you it was a bad idea," to Ellie.

I tried to think of Dylan to get my mind off her. I know I had been complaining about the lack of Dylan lately to everyone. And yes, it was probably getting on everyone's nerves. But I just missed him so damn much. I knew a long-distance relationship would be hard. But I just never knew _how_ hard. I knew Dylan was busy, and we both knew our communication would be limited, but we promised we'd both try the best we possibly could. It could have been worse. At least he didn't forget our anniversary. Sure, it was abbreviated. But it would be worse if he forgot completely.

I doubt Ellie knew it was our anniversary. But the fact she was trying to set me up with some guy on my anniversary really pissed me off. I have a boyfriend! I don't know what the hell she is thinking.

I heard the three of them leave. I had to get out of there.

I grabbed my cell out of my pocket, and called Alex.

"Hello, Mr. Michalchuk," Alex answered.

"Very funny, Alex," I told her. "You busy?"

"Nope, about to go to the Dot with Paige. Wanna join us?"

"Yeah, mind if I vent a little?" I asked.

"Not at all, babe."

"See ya in 10 then."


	2. Lovesick Marco & Dirty Alex

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews. Keep them coming!

* * *

"So, hon, what gives?" Paige asked me, cuddled up next to Alex, as I slid into the seat across from them at the Dot.

I was about to answer when the waitress showed up. "Can I get you anything?" she asked.

I shook my head. Alex grabbed the menu, and started ordering.

"I want curly fries, with cheese, chili. And a hamburger. But no pickles. No mayo or mustard either. But lots of ketchup. And I want a chocolate milkshake. And a strawberry one, too." She paused, smiling sweetly at Paige. "Let's see, I want nachos, too. With only a little cheese. But lots of chili. And lots of peppers. Every kind you got."

"Are you asking for gas, Alex?" I inquired. She laughed.

The waitress left. "You sure you aren't hungry, Marco?" Paige asked.

"I rarely have an appetite these days. You know..." I trailed off.

"Alright, Del Rossi, spill." Alex told me.

"Ok, I come home and I'm telling Ellie about this text I got from Dyl," I started off.

"Ooh, what did my brother say?" Paige asked. "I never hear from him, even though I'm his own flesh and blood." I got off my cell and showed it to her. "Hmm, short--"

"You think?" I asked, somewhat sarcastically.

"Marco, don't be like that. You know how little outside time he has. At least he didn't forget, you know." Paige told me.

"I know, Paige. I'm not trying to complain too much. But its just--" I trailed off, looking down.

"You're horny." Alex stated.

"ALEX!!" I exclaimed, looking up at her in shock. I heard Paige giggle.

"What?!" she asked, thinking her statement was perfectly normal. "Well, aren't you?"

"That has nothing to do with anything--and not even the point!"

"Come on, Del Rossi, you haven't gotten any since Curly left. So you're telling me you're not horny at all? I find that hard to believe." Alex stated.

"That's besides the point," I told her, crossing my arms.

"That means yes," she whispered to Paige.

"Fine!" I said. "Yes, I am, _that," _I whispered. "But I miss Dyl for different reasons."

"Awww..." Paige chimed in.

"Can we get back to the conversation now, or would you like to talk more about my sex life?" I asked Alex.

"Ew! No No No, I don't want to hear," Paige started to cover her ears, just in case I started talking about her brother's sex life.

Alex pulled down Paige's hands from her ears. "Paige, its fine." Alex looked at me. "Ok, go."

"So I tell her Ellie about Dylan's text, and turns out she and Jesse brought some dude back to the house. And they just "conveniently" left the room as soon as they could. Some dude named Eric." I cringed.

"Oh." Paige said.

"Wait - what? Are you saying what I think you are saying?" I nodded to Alex. "She was trying to set you up with him??"

I nodded again.

Paige just had her mouth open.

The waitress came with Alex's huge order. "Enjoy," she smiled and left us to the food. Both Paige and Alex grabbed fries and chowed down on them. They then paused for awhile.

Paige was the first to speak up. "Ok, so let me get this straight, Marco." I nodded. "So this guy was just there to be set up..or what?"

"From what I could gather, they were working on some paper thing, like the usually do. Then I came in, and there was pizza around, and then I noticed Jesse and this guy there. And then all the sudden, Ellie was mentioning to Jesse that she had to show her some "thing" in the other room. Yeah, right."

"Wow. Unbelievable, Nash." Alex said, starting on her nachos.

"Aw, hon, are you okay?" Paige asked, concerned.

"I just don't understand why Ellie keeps doing this. She is in total denial. It's like she thinks since Dylan went to Switzerland, that we are done or something. She keeps pointing out guys to me lately." I told them. "Even straight ones."

"What?" Alex laughed.

"I'm serious. We were at the grocery store the other day, and she pointed out to some guy. I could tell he was obviously straight, but Ellie can't really tell the difference." I grabbed a french fry. "I didn't really understand at the time, but it's all coming together now. She obviously is trying to get me over Dylan or something."

"But that makes no sense, Del Rossi." Alex said. "Didn't you and Dylan go over this stuff before he left?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "I told him I didn't want to date anyone but him, and he promised he wouldn't hurt me again. We knew it would be hard. And yes, its frustrating," I paused. "But that doesn't mean I want to give up. Hell no."

I took a sip out of Paige's strawberry shake. "What do you think?"

Paige looked at me, dumbfounded. "Well, I think you need to talk to Ellie and tell her what's going through your mind. It's clear to me that Ellie obviously does not understand the situation you and Dylan are in. I mean, she hasn't been in a long-distance relationship before--"

"Seriously, though, what is Ellie thinking?" Alex interrupted. "And someone named Eric? Hello!!!" Alex through her hands up in exasperation.

"Paige," I said.

"Yeah, hon?"

"Has your family heard much from Dyl?" I nervously asked.

She smiled. "You actually hear from him more than we do."

"Why?" Alex asked me.

"Just curious..." I said, tracing the design on the tablecloth.

"Hon." Paige looked at me. "You know how limited his communication is. Its hockey, eat, sleep."

"I know..."

"He loves you more than anything...you know that."

"I just miss him."

"And I know he misses you too. This wasn't easy on him."

"I just love him so much, Paige. And I told him that he had to go to Switzerland. He didn't want to leave me."

"Oh, you boys..." Alex said.

"I mean, what was I thinking? Telling Dyl to go to Switzerland..." I trailed off.

"Maybe you were trying to be the supporting boyfriend." Alex said.

"Well, supporting boyfriend is starting to regret letting said boyfriend go to Switzerland."

"Aw, hon." Paige patted my hand. "Besides, whenever I do go home, the always either complain about me dropping out of Banting or how expensive Dylan is. I seriously doubt Dylan is calling the house."

"How much is this Switzerland thing costing?" Alex asked.

"Flight alone was about $1,000." Paige said. "They complain, saying they don't know how much longer they can afford to have him over there."

"Didn't he get a contract or something?" Alex asked.

"It's some kind of special contract, I think." I told her. "It ties in with his work visa."

Alex started to lick off her fingers after finishing the last of her nachos. "Mmm, that was tasty."

"Well, I've got to study for that huge English exam that I have in a couple days," I told them.

We all got out of our booth. Paige hugged me. I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket.

"Sorry," I told her, getting my phone out of my pocket. I looked at it, and couldn't help but smile.

"What is it?" Paige asked. "You look...well, high."

I showed it to her, almost bouncing on air. She took the phone and looked at it. Alex looked over Paige's shoulder.

----

To: Marco

From: Dylan

i love you. so much. -dyl

----

Paige rustled Marco's hair and smiled at him. She grabbed Alex, who winked at Marco, and they left Marco in his delirious state.


	3. Confronting Ellie

**Author's Note**: Warning to Ellie fans, I do not portray Ellie in the best light here. I feel she was incredibly out of line, and I do not feel that Marco was mad at her long enough in "Standing in the Dark." This story will not follow the storyline in Season 7, though it will make references to the scene where Ellie tries to set Marco up.

* * *

"What the hell was that yesterday, Ellie?" I confronted Ellie the next afternoon, when she got home from class. I was in the living room working on yet another dang paper.

"What?" she asked, acting like it was no big deal. "I was just trying to help."

"Help with what, exactly?"

"Get over Dylan."

"Why would I need to get over him?" I inquired. "I don't know if you noticed, Ellie, but Dylan is still my boyfriend."

She sat across the table from me. "Oh come on, Marco. It's obvious to me that he doesn't care. He never calls, he obviously doesn't want anything to do with the relationship."

I took a deep breath. I stood up, and walked over to the wall where there was a map. I pointed to Switzerland. "Ellie, what's this?"

"A map."

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, Nash. What am I pointing to?"

She started to shift her eyes. "Europe."

"And where is Dylan?"

"Europe," She said very softly, looking at me. "Marco, I'm just trying to help you see what I see. It's just so painfully obvious to me."

"What is so obvious?"

"That he doesn't want to be in this relationship anymore."

"Oh, really?" I asked, dumfounded. I sat back down, combing my hands through my hair. This was going to be a long night.

"So, when he said he loved me on the phone last night, that was just some cover-up?" I said, annoyed.

"He may. I don't know. I just want you to open your eyes and see what's going on, Marco."

I just glared at her.

"Look, I'm sorry. But I'm just telling you how I see this." She moved to sit in the chair next to me.

I put my head down on the table. I put my hands through my hair.

"Uhh," I groaned. "You just don't get it, Ellie!"

"What? What don't I get?"

I looked up. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you are my friend, and I care about you!"

"Why don't you start acting like a friend!" I stood up, in anger. "You belittle my boyfriend, you try to set me up with that doofus-"

"You wouldn't even give Eric a chance." Ellie explained. "You were really rude to him."

"I don't care! He is not my concern. My boyfriend is my concern!"

"Well, Dylan is being an ass!"

"Oh, really?" I said, exasperated at how hard headed Ellie was being.

"He never calls, you barely hear from him. He treats you like crap."

"He's in SWITZERLAND!" I yelled.

I paced into the living room. I saw Paige in the corner of my eye, listening in.

"Ellie, sit. Let me talk. Don't say anything until I finish."

She followed me into the living room, and sat on the sofa.

I sat down. Then I sat up. I had to pace. God, I was so mad. I didn't even know where to start to try and explain it to her. Nothing was getting through to her.

"First of all, Ellie, I don't know what's gotten into you. You never had a problem with Dylan before. I am not asking for much here. Just respect my wishes and start acting like a friend. Friends don't try to set up their friends up on dates when they already have a boyfriend. A dedicated boyfriend."

I heard her scoff.

"What the hell is your problem with Dylan? He's in Switzerland. His schedule is jam-packed. He barely has time to sleep. He's lucky if he gets 5 hours a night. It's long-distance, Ellie. I don't expect you to understand what we are going through, but I do expect you to respect it." I sighed. "And it's hard. I didn't know it was going to be this hard, neither of us did. But I'm not going to break with him just because it's hard. He didn't want to go. He wanted to stay here to be with me. I told him to go. I was not going to get in the way of him pursuing his dream."

"Now, I will admit he's been an ass before. But he apologized for that a long time ago, and we have both gotten past that. And he's been trying, ok? Just lay off of him already. He treats me just fine, ok. It's not the most ideal situation. Just let me ask you something."

She looked up at me. "Have you ever been in love, Ellie?"

She looked at the ground, sheepishly. "No."

"Then you can't possibly understand what we are going through. As hard as this is, some days unbelievably hard, it's worth it, as mushy as that is. Because I love that crazy, curly-haired hockey player. Dyl makes everything worth it."

I stormed out of the room and passed Paige, at the foot of the stairs, who had her arms crossed against her chest, glaring at Ellie.

I stormed up the stairs to my room, and slammed the door, to make sure Ellie knew how mad I still was at her.

**A/N**: Hope I am writing the characters believable. Please keep the reviews coming.

Next chapter: Paige's Wrath.


	4. Paige's Wrath

**Author's Note**: This story is mostly told in Marco's eyes, but scenes that I put in this story that do not feature Marco will be told in third person.

Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I was out of town, with not much access to a computer. Keep the reviews up, they make my day!

* * *

Ellie cringed as Marco slammed the door upstairs. Ellie then saw Paige, glaring straight at her.

"What?" Ellie asked, walking back to the couch.

"Don't you think you are just a bit out of line?" Paige asked her, walking closer to Ellie in the living room.

"No." Ellie stated. Ellie sat down on the couch, reaching for a magazine. "What do you care, anyway?"

Paige looked at Ellie, flabbergasted. Surely she couldn't be serious. "You're not the only one that cares about Marco, Ellie."

Ellie looked up at Paige. "Yeah, I get that. But I still don't get why you are upset."

It seemed that Ellie had forgotten that Paige shared the same last name with Dylan.

Paige sat down on the love-seat across from Ellie. "Well, not only is Marco one of my closest friends, but Dylan is, well, my _brother_! Or Did you forget that!"

"Paige.." Ellie trailed off, not sure of what to say.

Paige raised her eyebrow, as to say "Well?"

"Ok." Ellie threw up her arms. "Sometimes I forget you are related, especially when he's not hanging around here. I guess I always thought of him as Marco's boyfriend and not your brother."

"Whatever, Ellie." Paige took a deep breathe. "I'm so pissed right now, I can't even breathe." She looked up at the ceiling. She looked back at Ellie. "I mean, why?! Why would you do that to Marco? And Dylan - I thought you liked Dylan."

"I do," Ellie explained. "I just don't like how he's treating Marco."

Paige rolled her eyes. "And how is he treating Marco?!"

Ellie opened her mouth to speak. "Well-"

Paige continued to talk, not noticing Ellie trying to say anything. "So Dylan can't even follow his dream now, Ellie? Which he only did at the insistence of Marco! You don't make sense."

Paige stood up and started to walk to the other side of the living room, next to a bookshelf of pictures, looking at a picture of Marco & Dylan. The couple was leaned in extremely close to each other, almost kissing, looking into each other's eyes, clearly very much in love.

"Ellie you keep forgetting the fact that Dylan did not want to leave Marco. Don't you know Dylan's priorities?"

"Obviously it isn't Marco," Ellie muttered.

Paige started to walk back to where Ellie was sitting. Ellie was much more hard-headed than she previously thought. Paige sat back down.

"Yes, he is," Paige stressed. "Marco has always been tied with hockey. Ever since they started dating."

"I doubt that seriously," Ellie said, as she flipped through the magazine she was reading.

"If you think that, then you obviously don't know how much my brother loves Marco. He'd give up hockey for him," Paige explained.

Ellie scoffed.

"What is your problem! Don't you get it? Do you even know what that means?" Paige walked to the side of the room and pulled out a picture from the back of the bookcase.

Paige stood in front of Ellie, hiding the picture from Ellie behind her back.

"You weren't dragged to every little hockey game since you were five." Paige showed the picture she was hiding to Ellie. It was an older picture, with two smaller children on an ice rink. The boy in the picture, obviously Dylan with massive blonde curls, was in hockey gear, and looked about 7 or 8 years old in the picture. He was hugging a younger blonde girl, clearly Paige, who was smiling brightly at her brother.

Ellie looked at the picture.

"You haven't seen the passion and love he has for hockey. You can see it in his eyes when he plays. He loves that sport. The only thing that ever came close to the love he has for hockey was Marco. I'd almost say the love he has for Marco even surpasses the love he has for hockey."

Ellie just shook her head, disbelieving.

Paige took the picture from Ellie, and sat down. "Fine, don't believe me. But I've seen that look he has when he looks at Marco. Only something he intensely love would warrant that look."

Ellie just rolled her eyes.

"Ellie, just stop it, ok?!" Paige yelled.

"No, Paige!" Ellie stood up. "I'm tired of being lectured by you two. I'm not going to stand aside and see Marco get hurt. If what you say has any truth, then why doesn't Dylan contact Marco?"

"Ellie, what do you know about hockey?" Paige asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Nothing, really." Ellie sat back down. "Marco dragged me to one of Dylan's games once. I didn't really understand it."

"Then you don't know what hockey season is like. I've been through this before. They have _no_ life half of the year. Dylan warned Marco of this before he left. They both knew this would be hard and what they were getting themselves into."

"Oh, whatever, Paige," Ellie told her, as she flipped through her celebrity magazine. "I think your family should come over and take the rest of Dylan's stuff back to your house. His hockey stuff is just taking up room."

Paige just stared at Ellie, in shock. Seriously, how can one girl be that hard headed. "Have you not heard a thing I said?"

The front door opened.

"Hey, babe," Alex smiled cheerfully at Paige. Alex leaned down to kiss Paige. She sat down next to Paige.

Seeing Ellie, she figured out why there was so much tension in the room.

"Nash. Bold, you are. Quite bold." Alex told her.

Ellie had the most confused look on her face.

"Come on," Paige grabbed Alex's hand. "Let's go upstairs. Clearly this is a lost cause." She mentioned towards Ellie.


	5. Vacation From Ellie

**Author's Note**: Keep the great reviews coming. They make me want to write faster. Dylan will make an appearance, but I won't tell you when. ;)

* * *

I heard a knock at my door.

"Go away, Ellie," I said.

"Hon, it's me," I heard Paige say through the door. I got off my bed and walked to the door and opened it.

"And me!" Alex exclaimed, making me jump slightly, as she poked her head in through the door, before I even finished opening it. I let out a light chuckle as I opened the door completely to reveal the two girls.

"What's up?" I asked, closing the door as the girls entered my room.

"I think we need to call a house meeting," Paige said, as she sat at the chair at my desk.

"Oh?" I inquired, as I sat down on the edge of my bed, facing her. I felt some extra weight on the bed. I looked behind me, to find Alex, under my covers, snuggling up to my pillows.

"Alex, what are you doing?" I laughed.

"What?!" Alex asked innocently. "It's so comfy! And snuggly!!" Alex wrapped herself tighter around my covers. "Oh, this is the stuff."

Paige and I couldn't help but laugh at her. She had a look of pure glee on her face. Alex was one of a kind, that was for sure. I just ruffled Alex's hair, laughing, before turning back to Paige.

"So, why do we need a meeting?" I asked her.

"Nothing is getting through to her, Marco."

"Oh, did you talk to her after I left?"

"Yes. I was pissed at how she is talking about my brother. Dylan's not even here to defend himself. She doesn't have a right to talk about him like that."

I looked at Paige, sympathetically.

"She thinks I'm not affected by this. I know I don't always show it. But I love my brother, I do."

"Aw, Paige, I know..." I comforted her.

"I miss him, too, you know."

I hopped off the bed, and grabbed a chair from the corner of the room. I sat it next to Paige, and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, and pulled her close.

"I know, sweetie." I paused. "I'm sorry."

She looked up, puzzled. "What for? You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"I've been so caught up in my thing with Dylan, that I neglected to think about how you are dealing with this too. He is your brother."

She looked at me, smiling. "Hon, you're in love."

"Yes, very much." I grinned. "But that still doesn't warrant me to ignore how you must be feeling."

"It's fine, most of the time," Paige explained. "I love both of you. But this thing with Ellie just brings up how Dylan being in Switzerland doesn't affect me."

"I know." I leaned closer to her, and kissed her forehead. I pulled her close, for a hug. "I'm still sorry," I whispered to her.

"Don't be," Paige said. "Apology not accepted."

I chuckled. "Fine."

"Anyway," Paige continued. "You won't believe what she said. I tried to tell her how much you and hockey meant to Dylan, but nothing got through to her. I even showed her a picture of us when we were little -"

"The one on the ice rink?" I asked, sitting back down on the bed.

"Yeah."

"Dyl was dreamy even then."

"Marco, he was 8 in that picture."

"So?" I exclaimed, shrugging my shoulders. "He was."

Paige cleared her throat, pointing to herself.

"You were gorgeous too, geez."

Paige smiled at herself. "Thank you."

"So what is it that Ellie said?"

"She thinks my parents should come and move the remainder of Dylan's stuff to our house, because his hockey stuff is taking up too much room."

I looked at Paige, speechless.

"She--what!?"

"I know." Paige said.

"Seriously, what is up with her lately?" I asked. "If she said that, then-"

"I guess she thinks Dylan's not coming back."

"I just don't know what to do with her anymore, Paige. She's driving me up the wall. I can't handle it. I have enough stress in my life as it is." I laid down on the bed, looking at the ceiling.

"I was thinking, Marco," Paige started to say. "That maybe we should suggest to Ellie she go stay with her mom or with Jesse for a week or two."

I sat up. "Hmm." I hadn't even thought of that as a possibility. I was almost to the point of going to my parents, just to escape Ellie.

"We could both use a break from her, she's just causing too much tension. Maybe this will let her cool off some, and get back to normal."

"I miss the old Ellie." I told her. "Alright, house meeting. When?"

"Tomorrow night. She doesn't have class."

I moved to the chair next to Paige, and opened the laptop on the desk. Paige turned her chair around, to see the computer. I logged into my email.

"I'll CC it to you," I told Paige, as I started to compose a message.

"Don't make it look suspicious. Say its about rent or something house-related."

* * *

From: Marco Del Rossi

To: Ellie Nash

CC: Paige Michalchuk

We are having a mandatory house meeting tomorrow at 7 pm, as we all don't have class or work at that time, to discuss separating financial expenses evenly, as well as other household duties.

Marco

* * *

"How's that sound?" I asked.

"Despite it being a long run-on sentence, it's perfectly fine," Paige said.

"Oh, whatever. You know what a horrible writer I am." I clicked the send button on the message.

All the suddenly, I heard a loudest snoring noise. I turned around and see Alex in my bed, mouth hanging open, snoring up a storm.

I looked at Paige, laughing.

"It's not that funny. Try sleeping next to that," Paige told me.

"No, it's cool. Dylan describes his dreams in his sleep." I said, defending myself.

Alex's snoring started to get louder and louder with each snore.

"My God, she's loud!" I laughed.

* * *

I sat on the couch, going through the mail, waiting for Ellie and Paige for our house meeting, also known as the Kick Ellie Out for Two Weeks meeting. I really hoped this worked, because Ellie was driving me crazy. She had even mentioned that her study partner in her Biology class was single over breakfast. I will give the girl credit, she definitely doesn't give up easily, despite her bad intentions.

Paige walked in the front door. "Hey, Marco," she smiled.

"I think I should sign up for classes at the community college next semester," Paige said, sitting down next to me.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Maybe Banting was just too much. I think I set my expectations too high," Paige explained.

"If you want, I'll go with you to the campus," I told her. "I'm sure there's an information session or something."

"Thanks, Marco," Paige hugged me. "Think this will go well?"

"No." I told her. "But if we don't I will seriously crack."

Paige laughed. "About time you admitted it."

I chuckled at Paige, as Ellie walked in, with two backpacks, full of papers and books.

"Have enough homework, hon?" Paige asked her.

Ellie put the backpacks on the chair, across from where Paige and I were sitting.

"Jesse is totally riding my ass. I thought being his girlfriend would make my job at the Core easier, but noo...he gives me more work than anyone on the Core." Ellie started to complain. "I mean, seriously, it's not like I don't have classes and a life."

Paige looked at me, with a look that said everything. Ellie could be really into herself sometimes.

"El." I stated.

Ellie looked up. "Hmm?"

"Sit." I said, sternly.

"What's going on?" Ellie asked, starting to figure out that something was off.

"Paige and I were talking last night, Ellie," I started to tell her. I looked nervously at Paige, but Paige just nodded her head, reassuring me. "We think it would be best if maybe you spend the next two weeks with your Mom or Jesse."

"What, why?"

"Ellie, hon. You have to admit you have been causing some," Paige paused, looking for the right word. "Stress in the house."

"Is this about me trying to set you up with Eric, Marco? I apologized for that." Ellie told me.

"Not exactly. And I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"I don't get it." Ellie said to me.

"You should be apologizing to my brother," Paige told Ellie, somewhat sternly.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Not this again."

"Yes, this again. You are making it hard to live with, Ellie. You are making everyone uncomfortable. I don't know if you are just extremely stressed or what, but you haven't been acting like normal." Paige told Ellie.

"You both want me to move out?" Ellie asked.

"Not move out, El." I told her. "Just a two week break, so we can all recollect ourselves."

Ellie bit on her lip. "How come Paige gets to stay here?"

"Well, to be honest," I said gently to Ellie. "Paige isn't dissing my boyfriend every second she gets and trying to set me up with every male that lives in Toronto."

"Marco, come on," Ellie urged. "Aren't you being a little drastic?"

"Ellie, I love you, okay? But I can't deal with you like this right now. You're not acting like Ellie. I just need a break from you. You need a break, I think..I just need some time away from you."

"And what if I don't agree to this?" Ellie asked.

"Then I'll call Dylan, and tell him what you did," Paige piped in.

Ellie's eyes opened wide. "You haven't told him, have you?"

"I think Dylan has other things to worry about right now," Paige said. "But I can assure you, hon, he will not be happy once he hears what you have been up to. And when he comes back, which he will," Paige emphasized. "We'll see if he thinks you should still be living here."

Ellie looked down, almost ashamed.

"Dylan's name is on this lease. He let you live here." I told her, trying not to be too mean.

Ellie looked down on the coffee table for a long time. She didn't look up for several minutes.

"I know," Ellie finally said, barely audible. She looked up at Paige, then at me. "If this is what you need, then, I'll do it for you, Marco. I'm not happy about it, but if you need a break, then I'll go get my things and stay with my mom for two weeks."

"Thank you, Ellie," I said.

She nodded, and rushed upstairs.

"That was so hard," I sighed, and put my head on the pillow that was on the couch.

Paige rubbed my back. "It'll be okay," she whispered.

"I just wish Dylan was here," I told her.

"I know. Me, too."


	6. Paige the Eavesdropper

* * *

**Author's Note**: Parts of this chapter was originally written before the last two chapters. Marco isn't in this chapter, so it is written in third person. Three new chapters in under 24 hours! Sorry this chapter is so short. Review & I'll write more. :)

* * *

Paige opened the door to her former home, in hopes to get the boxes of warmer clothes she left, as spring was just around the corner. Paige had never moved all of her stuff since moving into her brother's old room at Marco's. Or take over, really. You can barely even tell a boy used to live in there. Paige had covered most of the hockey posters with fashion and music posters. Plus, most of Dylan's important stuff was either in Switzerland or in Marco's room. Dylan knew Paige had moved into his old room, which was really only used as a show for Marco's dad, who now knew that Dylan was Marco's boyfriend.

"Hi, Mom, Dad," Paige greeted her parents in the living room.

"Oh, hi, dear, what you are doing here?" Paige's mom asked.

"Just getting some clothes I forgot." Paige told her. She nodded, as Paige noticed another person in the room with them. She looked at him strangely, as he looked familiar. He looked an awful like Dylan's old hockey coach, if Paige remember correctly. 'Didn't he coach some college hockey team now,' Paige thought to herself.

Paige went up the stairs, but she didn't go to her old room, She knew they were talking about something, as it looked like Paige had interrupted something when she came in. Paige hid at the top of the stairs, like she always did, when she wanted to get some gossip.

"Sorry about that, Mike," Paige's dad said.

"Might need to be discreet. I don't want this to get to Marco." Paige's mom said, looking up the stairs. "Not yet, anyway."

"You don't think she needs to know?" Dylan's old coach asked.

"She'll find out soon enough. But Paige can't keep a secret for two seconds, much less a week, and she lives with Dylan's boyfriend. I'd rather be safe than sorry." Paige opened my mouth in shock at her father's remarks. They were only somewhat true, but still.

"Well, I will call you as it gets closer to the date. I can't make any promises, Mrs. Michalchuk, but I can speak for everyone in my department that we would be thrilled if this could occur."

Paige continued onto her room as her parents let Dylan's old coach out. 'Why were they being so cryptic? Why couldn't I know? What did this have to do with Marco? I hate being left in the dark,' Paige thought.

As Paige put more clothes in the box she had started a few months ago, she wondered if her big brother was in trouble or something. She grabbed the box and went downstairs, setting it down on the living room table. Paige walked into the kitchen, where her parents were.

"Who was that?" Paige asked. "Isn't that Dylan's old coach?"

"No one and yes," Paige's mother said.

"What was that all about? Is Dylan okay?"

"Nothing. Dylan's fine, honey," she patted Paige's shoulder.

"Wait, you heard from him?"

"No, but Mike talks to the coach in Switzerland at least weekly. He gives us reports on Dylan."

"How come you never told me this?" Paige questioned her mother.

"Because." Paige's dad said.

"Because why?" Paige turned around to look at her father. "He's my brother! My _only_ brother!"

"Paige." Dad motioned for me to sit down at the kitchen table next to him. "Do you really think it is wise for us to tell you every detail that we get? Every injury, every fall?"

"I don't see why not." Both of Paige's parents raised on eyebrow at Paige. "What?! I won't tell Marco." They raised their eyebrows again. "I won't!"

Mrs. Michalchuk came to sit down next to Paige. "Paige, we love you, and Dylan." She tucked a part of Paige's hair over her ear. "But Marco is stressed enough as it is with Dylan gone. He doesn't need to know when Dylan sprains his ankle."

"Dylan sprained his ankle!??" Paige exclaimed.

"No, that was an example." My dad said. "Paige, this is what we are talking about. Try to calm down. Everything's fine. Dylan's fine. You are fine. Marco's fine."

"I am fine, yes." Paige said, standing up to leave. But Marco and Dylan are not fine. They are miserable without each other."

"I think its time," Mrs. Michalchuk said to her husband, after Paige exited the house, who had forgotten the box of clothes she had come for originally.

"That, it is," Mr. Michalchuk said, in agreement.


	7. Marco's Needs

**Author's Note**: I hope this chapter isn't horrible. The first part is a tad dirty, but nothing that bad. ;) There are two exciting chapters coming up, but I need reviews to keep me going with this story!

* * *

"Marco, open up!" I heard Alex banging on my bedroom door. I loved Paige & Alex, but this house was starting to become way too crowded. I could never get a moment to myself. 

"It's open!" I yelled, from my shower. I was lucky in that the room I had was the only room in the house that had a connecting bathroom. I never let the girls use my bathroom, a fact they did not enjoy. I loved the fact I had my own bathroom, especially when Dylan still lived here. He surprised me many times in the shower, and I vice versa.

Alex knocked on my bathroom door. "Marco, I really need to go."

"Go where?" I asked.

"I need to pee."

"Then go pee." I stated sarcastically.

"Paige is in the hall bathroom, and the downstairs one isn't working."

"Well, you'll just have to wait." I told her. "I'm still taking my shower."

"Marco, come on," Alex told me. "You take forever. Plleeassseee."

"What? I do not take forever." I told her defensively through the bathroom door.

"You do too." Alex started to whine. "You and Dylan would take hours in the bathroom."

I rolled my eyes. Why did she think we took forever? You think with her dirty mind, she'd get it. Seriously. "That was Dylan. He takes forever."

This much was true. I loved the man, but he took forever to get ready sometimes. Yes, I do primp, but nothing compared to Dylan. Sometimes I wonder why he must have every curl on his head in the perfect place. Especially when it usually got messed up that night. I really didn't know what was up with me lately. I couldn't stop thinking dirty thoughts all week. Well, that wasn't exactly true. I did know. I hadn't gotten any in months, but I was still trying to control myself, somewhat. It seemed forever since I had any kind of physical contact.

I grabbed a towel and wrapped around my waist. I exited the bathroom, seeing Alex waiting, squatting on her feet, with her legs crossed. I guess she really did have to go.

"There you go, your majesty," I said, opening the door for her.

"Finally!" Alex exclaimed, running into the bathroom.

I started to get dressed. I started to hear a sound from the bathroom, and I remembered another reason I didn't let Alex use my bathroom. She urinated very loudly. It was amazing, really, for such a petite person.

I pulled on my boxer shorts, and grabbed my blue Italia shirt out of the closet, and pulled it over my head. I pulled my jeans on, as I heard to toilet flush.

Alex then exited, and laid down on my bed, exhaling.

"Don't let that become a habit," I told her, styling my hair in front of the mirror at the dresser. "You could hear your pee from New York, by the way."

"Oh, whatever," Alex said, sitting up. "What's that smell?"

Alex started to sniff like a dog, tracing a scent.

"Um, nothing," I said, very nervously. _Oh, crap. I forgot to spray the room with freshener._

Alex looked at me, quite puzzled. "What's with you? Why are you all fidgety?"

"Nothing. I don't knowwhyitsmells," I said extremely fast, and a little high-pitched. Great, that wasn't going to help matters. She was sure to press the issue now.

Alex sniffed the air again, and stood up, walking around the room. "You know, it almost smells like--"

"Like nothing! Smells like nothing. If anything, it smells neutral. A non-scenty scent!"

"No-" She looked around, and then noticed my trash. "Are you sick or something? There's alot of Kleenex in here."

I started to blush like crazy, and sat down on the bed. How do I get myself in these situations?

She smelled the air again, and then looked at the trash, full of used Kleenex. "Ohhhhh..."

"Oh, my." Alex started to giggle. "Told you that you were horny, Del Rossi."

"It's not funny, Alex." I put my head in my hands. "You really don't need to make me more embarrassed than I already am."

"Aw, Marco." Alex sat on the bed, next to me. "You don't need to be embarrassed. How long's it been now? Like, 3 months, or is it more?"

I looked up. "4 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days."

"Wow."

"Since Dylan left, or since..?"

"Both."

"Didn't he leave like at some ungodly hour like, 5 or 6 in the morning."

"Yeah, so."

"Oh." Alex pondered on something for a bit. "You know, I did hear alot of noise coming from upstairs that night."

"Oh, sorry." I looked down, sheepishly. "We sorta never got to sleep."

"Oooh," Alex laughed. "What's the number?"

"Huh?" I asked.

Alex cocked her eyebrow. "How many times?"

"Oh," I said, realizing what she meant. "I'm not going to tell you that."

"Why not?" Alex asked. "I'm not going to tell anyone, I'm just curious."

I sighed. "Look, it was a very emotional and tiring night. I don't see how that's relevant."

I looked at her, and Alex sat there, looking at me. "Uh huh."

"Come on, Alex," I said. "It's hard to say goodbye to someone, especially when you don't know for how long."

"Number, Del Rossi."

Alex could be real stubborn. "Fine," I said, exasperated. "Five." I sat up, heading for the door. "Happy now?"

"Yes, actually."

"I've got to get to class," I told her. "No more of this embarrassing sexy talk."

"Fine," Alex told me. "Oh wait, Paige wanted me to tell you she wants to do a movie marathon tonight if you're interested."

"Sure, cool. Just call my cell. I have class till 5." I told her, exiting my room. I noticed Alex wasn't following me.

"Alex, out."

"But why?" Alex said, looking lovingly at my bed. One might think she was in love with my sheets.

"Because you will mess my sheets up again, and I just washed them. Come on, OUT," I told her pointing out of the room.

"Oh, fine." Alex followed me out of the room. "You're no fun, Del Rossi, not even after your happy time," She pouted, walking down the stairs to Paige's room.

* * *

"AHHH!" I jumped into Alex's lap, as a zombie appeared on the TV in the living room. Why did we have to watch a zombie movie, of all things? 

Paige had claimed today to be movie night. I figured it would be some romantic comedy night, where we would oogle at the guys. Well, at least I would. Spinner & Jimmy had come over, and Spinner insisted on watching some new zombie movie. Where was Dylan when I need him? I'd much rather be jumping into his lap than Alex's right now.

"It's just a zombie, Marco," Spinner said. "It's not like it's a bee."

"What? Where??" I jumped around, eyeing everywhere.

"Leave him alone, Spin," Jimmy said. "Man, what would you do if this movie was about bee zombies?"

My eyes grew wide. "Don't put ideas like that in my head. I can't stand zombies. But bees are worse. Death machines, that's what they are."

Alex and Paige chuckled.

Why did I agree to watch this? It was going to be a long night.

"Where's Ellie?" Jimmy asked.

"Don't ask," Paige said.

"What? You kick her out or something?"

"For two weeks," I told them.

"Seriously?" Spinner asked.

Blood suddenly splashed on the screen. "Ahhh!" I hugged onto Paige, as I had squeezed myself in between the two of them.

"Oh, God!" Paige screamed.

"What did Ellie do?" Spinner asked us.

"She wouldn't leave Marco alone about Switzie and kept trying to set him up with straight guys," Alex said, eyes glued to the screen.

"Switizie!? You're calling my brother Switzie now?" Paige asked her girlfriend.

"Just trying to put a new spin on things," Alex said.

"Woah, she seriously has been setting you up with straight guys?" Jimmy asked.

"Pretty much," I looked at him. "Anyone. That ugly guy from the Core, guys she thinks are gay but are actually straight."

"Wow." Jimmy said. "So, she won't give up, huh?"

"Nope. She keeps going on and on about how she thinks Dylan is treating me bad and all this crap. Kept bad mouthing him. **All** the time," I continued. "I told her I needed to get away from her, and she needed to get her head together."

"How long's it been?" Spin asked.

"4 days." Paige said.

Suddenly the music of _We Are Family_ came from Paige's phone. Paige had a very unique taste in ringtones.

"Oh, sorry," Paige said, getting up to go to the kitchen to answer her phone.

I knew it was her parents, so I was much more interested in her phone conversation, as anything to do with her family might have something to do with Dylan. Granted, I talked to him two days ago, but well, any mention of him got my ears perked up. I just wanted him to come home. I kept hoping he would, because I thought the hockey season was ending soon. When I asked Dylan if they were going to let him come home or if they were making him train more, he told me they hadn't told him yet. We both were anxiously waiting to find out.

"Now?" I heard Paige say. I could see Paige sighing.

"Sorry, guys," Paige said, coming back to the living room from the kitchen. "Mom wants me over for dinner , and wouldn't take a raincheck."

"Awww..." The guys pitched in.

"Is everything ok?" I asked her.

"Just fine, hon," Paige said, gathering her purse. "Mom just wants more quality time I think."

"Tell them hi for me, okay?" I told her.

"Sure thing." Paige leaned towards Alex. "I'll call when I'm on my way back. Hopefully this won't take too long."

"Ok, hurry back," Alex said, kissing Paige.

"Bye, guys. Enjoy the movie."

* * *

"Hi, Mom," Paige said, entering her house. "I'm here." 

"Oh, good, dear," Mrs. Michalchuk said. "Come, come." She motioned for Paige to come into the dining room.

"How come you wanted me to come over?" Paige said. "I was over here for dinner a couple days ago."

"What, I need a reason to see my only daughter now?"

"No, Mom, of course not." Paige hugged her mother. "It just sounded like something was important over the phone."

"We just wanted to see you, Paige," Mr. Michalchuk said. "We don't see you that often."

"Why don't you wash up, dear," Mrs. Michalchuk suggested to Paige. "Dinner should be ready in about 5 minutes."

Paige walked up to the stairs to the bathroom that was between her room and Dylan's old room. As she rinsed her hands, she thought she heard something through the wall.

"peanuts...chocolate...gum...stupid plane...so tired...homesick..."

_Huh?_ Paige thought to herself. _Where was that voice coming from?_

Paige dried her hands and ventured into the hall. She looked into her room, the guest room, with no luck. Maybe she was imagining things. Or hearing things. Paige was convinced she was going crazy, until she heard the voice again.

"love..."

Paige tried to figure out where the voice was coming from. It seemed to be straight ahead from where she was standing, either the guest bedroom or ...Dylan's old room.

"miss..."

But that was impossible. She had just heard from Dylan a couple days ago.

"you..."

And then she heard the word that made her spine shiver.

"marco.."

Paige's eyes grew wide, and she slowly stepped towards Dylan's closed door. Paige's heart started beating faster as she approached the door knob. She nervously opened the door.

The room was a mess, so it was hard to make out much of anything. But she heard light snoring, coming from the bed. She saw what looked to be someone fully dressed, minus shoes, laying on their stomach on Dylan's old bed. They were covered up, so she couldn't see much. She walked over to the head of the bed, to get a better look. Their head was mostly covered up, but Paige gasped at something appearing out of the covers. A mass of brown curls were peeking out of the sheets, with just about an inch or two of blonde at the roots.

A/N: Sorry if this sucked...


	8. The Return of Dylan

**Author's Note**: My apologies for the delay in this chapter. I hope I made this somewhat believable. I honestly didn't know the best way to bring Dylan back from Switzerland. Also, I don't know much about hockey, so if the facts are wrong, my apologies. In this story, Dylan has been in Switzerland for six months.

* * *

Paige rushed down the stairs as fast as she could. _No way. This was impossible._

Paige looked around for her purse. She thought she set it down in the living room where she usually did. She frantically went from the kitchen, to the dining room, to the living room, passing her parents several times in the process.

The Michalchuks just chuckled at this. It was obvious that she had found Dylan upstairs. It would be hard not to, as he had been snoring and talking in his sleep ever since he fell asleep two hours ago.

"Mom!"

"Paige, it's almost time for dinner. Why don't you sit down?" Mrs. Michalchuk said, setting food on the table.

"Where's my purse? I need it!!" Paige said, almost yelling.

"You_need_ it? Whatever for, dear?" Mrs. Michalchuk said, acting completely clueless.

"Mom, where is it? Have you seen it?"

"Let's just say it's in a safe place," Mr. Michalchuk piped in, setting down three plates.

"I really need to make a phone call." Paige whined, impatiently.

"No, you don't." Mrs. Michalchuk told her daughter, matter-of-factly. "You're not going near a phone, and you're definitely not calling Marco."

Paige looked at her mother, dumbfounded.

"Now, sit, before your chicken gets cold." Mrs. Michalchuk told her daughter, sitting down at the table.

"Is that why you asked me over?" Paige asked, sitting down slowly.

"Not entirely. That had something to do with it, yes..."

"We do love to see you, Paige. We probably would have invited you over regardless." Mr. Michalchuk told her, sitting across from her at the dining table.

"Regardless?"

"Paige, we know what you saw upstairs. You'd have to be deaf not to." Paige's father continued.

Paige raised her eyebrow.

"You know what Dylan is like when he hasn't gotten enough rest, honey," Paige's mom continued. "He talks in his sleep even louder than usual, sometimes _very_ loud."

"But, But--" Paige was speechless. "How-When...We just heard from him the other day..."

"We will answer all of your questions, but right now, we are going to have a nice dinner, the three of us." Paige's mom looked at her daughter, earnestly. "Corn?"

Paige tapped her foot impatiently. "Fine," Paige said, her arms crossed.

* * *

Paige was sitting impatiently on the living room couch. It was after dinner, but she still had no idea why Dylan was upstairs in their house, when she thought he was supposed to still be in Switzerland. Or why she couldn't use her phone or tell Marco. Her parents were making her wait forever. It was torture, waiting for them. She knew they knew how anxious she was. They just loved to make her sweat. 

"Mom! Dad!" Paige yelled, but not too loud.

"We're coming, dear!" Her mother said from the kitchen.

Her parents then walked to the seats directly in front of Paige and sat down.

"Will you answer my questions now?" Paige asked, growing more impatient by the second.

"Of course," her dad said. "What would you like to know?"

"Oh, where do I even start?" Paige said, sarcastically. "Let's see..how about why is my brother sleeping upstairs? When did my brother get here? Why is he back? Is he here for good or temporarily? Why wasn't I told he was coming back? Did he know he was coming back when he called two days ago? Why was my purse confiscated? Why can't I use my phone? Why can't I speak to Marco? Oh, and just what the _hell_ is going on!" Paige started to pace around the couch with her hands going through her blonde hair.

Paige's mom walked over to her daughter, and wrapped her arm around her shoulders, moving her to the couch, sitting next to Paige. "Sweetie, calm down. I know you are very curious, and have a million things going through your head, but you need to breathe."

"But, Mom, I just don't understand--" Paige motioning upstairs, on the verge of tears.

"Shh..." Mrs. Michalchuk soothed her daughter, rubbing her back.

"Paige." Mr. Michalchuk said.

Paige looked up at her father, eyes watering.

"Let me just start by saying Dylan has only been home for about 3 hours. Your mother and I picked him up from the airport not long ago. Your mother made him go straight to bed, as he is very jet lagged. He had no idea he was going to be coming home."

"I really don't think he objects to much, considering the smile he had on when we picked him up from the airport," Paige's mom smiled, glancing at a picture on the mantle.

"All he knew is that he was either coming home or staying in Switzerland to train when the season was over. He did not know anything. He knew it could be days or weeks when a decision would be made. Your mom and I have been in talks with many coaches and hockey officials about Dylan's situation for about a month." Mr. Michalchuk continued.

"Why was he kept in the dark? Why was this so hush-hush?" Paige asked.

"I'm sure it seems like that, from your perspective, honey," Paige's mom said. "Dylan let us do all the background deals and stuff, as long as he had the last say. He was just too busy to really deal with it."

"The reason we didn't tell you, Paige, is because we didn't want you worrying about everything. And there were no guarantees with this. We know how much you care for your brother. We didn't know if Dylan would be coming back, staying in Switzerland, or even winding up somewhere else entirely. We didn't want to keep your hopes up," Mr. Michalchuk continued to explain.

"Or Marco's," Paige whispered, as she looked at a picture of Dylan and Marco on the mantle. It was one of the cutest ones they've ever taken, in her opinion. Dylan had his arms wrapped around Marco's shoulders, with his hands holding Marco's in front of Marco's chest. They were smiling, clearly happy and very much in love.

"I will admit you being best friends with Marco made us more hush around you concerning Dylan," Mr. Michalchuk told his daughter. "But we also didn't want you to worry over Dylan."

"Why can't I call Marco now though?" Paige asked, still very confused.

"Dylan trusted us to not let you tell Marco. He emphasized that very strongly on the way home."

"What, why?"

"Paige, come on now. You couldn't keep this to yourself without some incentive." Paige's mother told her.

"I still don't understand why I can't say anything to Marco, Mom."

"Dylan wants to surprise him. And in order to do that successfully, that means not one word from you."

"Not_one_, young lady." Mrs. Michalchuk raised her eyebrow at her daughter.

"You are acting like I can't keep a secret."

"You can't."

Paige turned around at the sound of another voice. As she turned, she saw the brother she had not seen in months, and a smile came to her lips. Standing on the base of the stairs, was Dylan. He had a smirk on his face, though he looked extremely tired. He was wearing some Switzerland T-shirt and flannel pants, obviously just woken up or had been waken up. His curly hair was longer, several inches longer than she last saw it. Dylan usually never let his hair get that long, and it was clear he needed a haircut. Several inches of his blonde roots were showing, which looked interesting, as the rest of his hair was still the brunette color he had dyed it last year. Despite his tired state, his blue eyes shined with excitement, excited to his sister.

"Dylan!!" Paige squealed, as she ran to Dylan in what seemed like a nanosecond, and almost tumbled into him from excitement. She leaped into his arms so fast, he almost didn't catch her. "You're home!" Paige exclaimed, with joyous glee.

Dylan hugged his sister tighter. "Missed you too, Paige."

"We'll let you two catch up," Mr. Michalchuk said, sitting up from the chair he was sitting in. "Dylan can fill you in on the rest of your curiosities, Paige."

"Don't talk for too long, Dylan, you still need to catch up on your sleep," Mrs. Michalchuk said sweetly, following her husband out of the living room.

Dylan let go of Paige, and went to sit on the couch. "Ok, I know you must be dying to know everything."

Paige followed Dylan, almost on stepping on his feet. "Dyl, seriously, what are you doing home? I'm thrilled beyond means, but I am a little confused here. You were in Switzerland when you called two days ago, right?"

"Yes, I was." Dylan motioned for his sister to sit down. "Sit, you're too jumpy."

"I'm sorry, I'm just--there's millions of things going through my head." Paige reluctantly sat down.

"Just breathe, Paige." Dylan paused for longer than usual. He looked up at Paige, like he wanted to say something.

"Dyl, what is it?" Paige asked, noticing Dylan's action.

"Um..well," Dylan trailed off, looking at the couch cushions. "I mean, I know you have a lot of questions and stuff, and I don't want to seem to egotistical to ask this...but..I'm dying to know..."

"He's okay." Paige said. "He misses you more than imaginable."

"Really?" Dylan asked, smiling.

Paige smiled at her brother. Even apart, the two of them were just too much. They were just so..perfect. "He still loves you. He loves you more than anything, Dyl. He just misses you. He's doing okay, though. He can stand on his own feet, you know. He can live without you, but he just doesn't like to."

"I know." Dylan looked at his sister. "I'm dying to see him, you have no idea how much I miss him."

"He's at the house. You can go see him now if you want."

"No, I want to surprise him. I have it planned out. Plus, I want to be somewhat awake when I see him, and I'm in no state of awareness right now. It's taking most of my energy here just to seem awake. I hate jet lag." Dylan groaned, resting his feet on the coffee table.

"Ok, Paigey, what did the parents tell you?"

"That they've been doing your hockey dealings for the past month or so, and that you didn't know you were coming home until earlier today, I think." Paige said.

"Right, okay." Dylan said. "So, you know I had basically a one-season contract with Switzerland. I had a 6-month work visa, which expired at the end of the month. When the season ended, I didn't know if they were going to renew my contract, or be offered someplace else, or return home. They worked me hard everyday, I barely had time for sleep, much less contract negotiations. So I had Mom & Dad deal with all of that. All I knew is that there would be a decision before my work visa expired."

"Okay.."

"So, after the season ended last week, they've had me in intense training. They told me that if the decision came down to someplace else or coming back home, I had to be ready to leave with very little notice. The hockey team was basically in dorms, anyway. All I had brought was clothes, hockey gear, and necessity type stuff. So that wasn't a problem. I mean, I did not have much control to who wanted me. I knew what I hoped would happen," Dylan continued on. "So yesterday afternoon, the manager of the team came up to me. Everyone on the team knows I have family and a boyfriend in Canada, and well I tend to drone on how much I miss home, I guess, though I did love the hockey experience. Well, the manager comes up to me, right before a short practice, and he told me that I get to go home. He handed me my tickets, told me I had two hours to pack, and a taxi would be there to pick me up."

"Is that all he said?" Paige asked.

"Pretty much. I asked him if it was short-term or long-term, and he said my parents would fill me in on all the details when I got home. But he did smile at me, saying he knew I'd be happy with the results of the hockey negotiation."

"Didn't you want to call us when you got this news though?"

"Hell, yeah, I did! I wanted to call Marco immediately," Dylan said excitedly. "But I had little time to get ready, and my calling card had just run out of minutes. So, I decided on the plane that it would a great way to surprise Marco."

"Dylan..."

"What?"

"Come on, I have to know, are you here for good or what?? Am I going to be saying bye to my brother again in a couple days?" Paige inquired.

"No."

"No?" Paige asked.

"No."

"No!!!" Paige exclaimed. "Does that mean you are here for good?"

"Yes," Dylan beamed. "Dad was able to get a deal where I can still play hockey, and further my hockey career, and stay here in Toronto."

"How?"

"Mom had mentioned to some hockey coaches how she wished that one of her children were in college," Dylan said.

"Oh, no, not again--" Paige groaned.

"The decision ultimately came down to me, Paige. As good intentions as Mom's intentions were, the deal was struck because of what I wanted to do. She didn't force me to do anything."

"To do what exactly?"

Dylan turned around, looking for the piano. He reached for a file folder that was laying on the piano seat. "This," Dylan said, opening the file folder and showing a piece of paper to Paige.

"I didn't think I would, Paige," Dylan continued. "Miss college. But I do. I really liked college. I got to do my hockey, I got to have the college life, and I got to be with Marco. I miss that life."

Paige looked at the paper in her hands. It was a signed document, confirming Dylan as a hockey forward for the following school year at the University of Toronto. Paige looked up and smiled at Dylan. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. This way, I can work on a degree as a backup if something happens during hockey, because we all know that can happen. And by being in a university team, hockey scouts often look at universities, as I found out last year. But this time, I'm not saying yes to anything if it means leaving Marco or university. I want to finish my degree, Paigey."

Paige grinned at her brother. "I don't know what to say, Dyl. I'm just so proud of you." She reached up to hug her brother.

"Thanks," Dylan said, hugging her back. "Now can I trust you to keep quiet?" He let go of his sister. "I'm serious, Paige. Not one word I am back to Marco, Alex, Ellie, _no one._"

"How long do I have to keep quiet?" Paige asked.

"Less than a day," Dylan answered. "This is really important to me, Paige."

"You can calm down, Dylan. I'm not going to say anything," Paige paused. "But I could use a little incentive."

"I knew this was too good to be true," Dylan sighed. "What do you want?"

"Nothing..._much._" Paige answered. "I just want to borrow something from now until you tell Marco."

"Which would be?" Dylan asked, yawning from the jet lag.

"I mean, I had to get on a bus just to come home. You really should pity your little sister, that she has to walk everywhere." Paige said, dripping with her pity.

Dylan had a feeling he knew where this was going, and he wasn't liking it.

"Get to your point, Paige."

"It's just I have to go register for classes tomorrow, and it's clear across town. It would take forever on the bus..and since keeping quiet about your location is going to be so stressful for me, maybe it would help if my awesome big brother that I love so much would let me borrow his car." Paige rambled on, sugarcoating her words.

Dylan stood up, to cross his arms, and walked to the foyer at the bottom of the stairs. "First, you can't use the sibling card anymore this year. And I'm only doing this because I don't want my reunion with Marco ruined."

Paige eyes brightened, as she walked towards her brother. "Are you saying what I think you are saying?"

"Yes." Dylan said, as Paige squealed. "But," interrupting Paige's delight, "I want you to be extremely careful. If there is one dot of paint missing on my baby, you're paying for it."

"Fine, fine. I'll take good care of it, I promise." Paige said.

"I'll be holding you to that, Paige. And my car is not an _it_." Dylan said, handed her the keys. "Now, good night, sister, I'm going to sleep, I'm beat."

* * *

**A/N**: I tried to get this chapter up as fast as I could. I'm quite a busy girl, but I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. 


	9. Dylan's Rainy Camaro

**A/N:**I hope you like this chapter as much as I have wanted to write the ending scene. I only have 1 or 2 more chapters in my head, so I will need some inspiration if you want this story to be longer. So please _**review**_!

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I groggily went down the stairs, as I had trouble sleeping last night. Mostly due to Spinner's insistence on watching not one, but two, zombie movies last night. How I let him talk me into these movies is beyond me. I hate zombie movies, they give me the chills. I needed coffee, bad. I had to go to my Psych class, but I am so going back to sleep afterwards. Thank goodness its only two blocks away from the house. It was nice being so close to campus, I could walk pretty much to all my classes, which was good, since I didn't have a car. 

I walked into the kitchen, seeing Paige eating cereal.

"Hey, Marco."

"Mmm," I replied, groggily, rubbing my eyes.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I couldn't sleep. Spinner made me watch two zombie movies last night."

"Aw, you poor thing."

I got my coffee mug and started to pour coffee from the coffee pot. I looked out the kitchen window. I glanced back down, then back up again, not sure of what I saw. Granted, I was pretty tired at that point. Parked outside our house, was a black Camaro, with red racing stripes. It looked exactly like Dylan's car. Maybe I was just seeing things. I looked more closely, seeing a maple leaf hang from the rearview mirror, just like Dylan's car. That was Dylan's car. But why was it here?

"Paige."

"Yes?"

"Why is Dylan's car in front of our house?" I asked her, looking at the car in bewilderment.

"Oh, um," Paige started to say. "Mom wanted me to drive it around, as it hasn't been driven in awhile, and she doesn't want it cooped up in the garage the whole time."

"Your mom is letting _you_ drive?" I asked her, turning around to face her.

"What? I'm a good driver!" She exclaimed.

"Sure, you are," I said, dripping with sarcasm. I finished my coffee, and got my book bag. "Well, I'm off to Psych, then back to sleepytime for Marco."

"Don't you have a class later?" Paige asked me.

"Yes, but it's not till 4," I answered her. "See ya later, Paige," I said, leaving the kitchen, and walking out the door.

* * *

I sleepily dragged my feet back to the house after Psychology. I should have just skipped, as all the professor did was drone on and on about something with dogs and something else...ah, it wasn't important. I was so tired, I barely even took notes. I pride myself usually as being an excellent notetaker. My classmates always hound me for copies of my notes. Sometimes I let them. Most of the time, I don't. 

The sky looked really dark for just 10 in the morning. Looked like it was going to rain later. I loved the sound of rain. Even the smell.

I really needed some sleep. I was so tired, I was barely even coherent. And Dylan was going to call tonight, as he usually called every two days, after my extremely boring history class.

I climbed the steps to the door, and up to my room. I threw my bag down on the floor, and crashed into the bed. Oh, sheets, how I missed you so. If I went to sleep now, I could get four and half hours.

"Mmmmm," I murmured into the pillows, removing my shoes and jeans, as I got under the soft sheets, and closing my eyes shut.

* * *

I loved getting out of class early, especially when it was going to rain. I don't really know why, I just do. The professor only boringly lectured about the Treaty of Blah Blah for about 20 minutes. I walked across the campus' main walk area, and walked a couple more blocks, until I was almost to my street. 

I walked to cross the street, where my house was. Dylan's car was still parked in front. I stopped in front of it for a little bit, touching it. The hood was up, which was good, as I don't think Dylan would be too happy to come home to a interior that was ruined due to Paige. Lots of memories in that car. Most of them good. Some of them really good. Interesting that Paige said that she was going to drive it around, and it still sits here. Paige was quite the odd cookie at times, but you had to love her.

It started to drizzle some. I loved the feel of rain on my face. I started to walk towards the house, but I suddenly bumped into Paige. Or rather she bumped into me.

"Hey, sunshine!" She said, a little too loudly.

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why are you so happy?"

"Because there might be a rainbow later!" Paige started to jump up and down.

I leaned towards her and started to sniff. "Why are you so high-pitched? Have you been drinking? Or anything _else_?" I asked her, raising my eyebrow.

"What? No, Marco! Can't one be happy for no reason?"

"Of course. You? No."

She scoffed. "Whatever, Marco. I'm going to go to Alex's house." She started to walk towards the next street.

"Um, Paige..."

"Hmm?"

I motioned towards the car, as Alex lived a good 5-10 minutes away. "Aren't you going to take the car?"

Paige looked at Dylan's car. "Oh." She paused, then looked at me. "Umm, nah. I'm going to walk. I don't want to miss that rainbow!"

She skipped off to Alex's. Seriously, she was acting really weird today. She hates getting wet. And it was starting to rain harder. I just shook my head in bewilderment, in not understanding what was going through Paige's head. I should really stop trying to figure that girl out.

As much as I wanted to play in the rain, I wanted to hear my boyfriend's voice much more. I walked around the car to the steps of the front door. Of course, I had forgotten to get my keys out. It started to rain harder, so I quickly fished for my keys out of my bag, I suddenly felt like someone was looking at me. I looked up, and came to an abrupt halt in my walk.

Sitting on the steps, was a tall, muscular, gorgeous man with curly hair. I thought I was in a dream, because what I saw before me was the love of my life. The love I had missed for six long, horrible months. My Dylan.

I was sure I was in a dream, but the mirage before me stood up and ran to me. He picked me up, and twirled me around happily. It felt like Dylan. Hell, it even smelled like Dylan, that sexy musky scent. He looked up at me, and I think he could tell I was in disbelief. I started to touch his face, his shoulders, his arms.

"Wha-" I managed to get out.

"Marco," he looked into my eyes. "It's really me."

"But--But." My mouth was struggling to find the words, as it was gaping open. "How?"

He grinned at me, and all the sudden his lips were on mine. _Oh God_. _Dylan. _His hands were in my hair and he was kissing me with love and passion all at the same time. It had to be Dylan, it tasted like him. And, oh, he tasted so wonderful. I reached up to his face, combing my hands through his blonde roots. I thought when I saw Dylan again, I'd just have my way with him.

But all the love I had for Dylan rushed right back into my heart, where it been sitting dormant for so long. I kissed him back sweet and tenderly. He kissed me back, with the same amount of love towards me, as it was evident how much he had missed me as well. His eyes were watery, as were mine, but it was hard to tell if his were from emotion like mine were or just the rain that was falling down on us.

As much delight I was in at that moment, I was thoroughly confused.

"What are you doing here, Dylan? Why aren't you in Switzerland?" I asked, reluctantly breaking the kiss.

"I'm as surprised as you are, Marco." He told me.

I didn't really like the sound of that, exactly. That could mean he was just here for a couple days.

"Oh," I said, looking at the ground at our feet.

He took his finger and pushed my chin up to his eyes. "It's not bad, Marco." He took my hand in his, and walked me to his car, and sat me on the hood.

"They told me I could come home yesterday. So I'm home." Dylan grinned.

"I'm sorry to be pessimistic, as I'm sure you understand, taking in the last months..." I paused, as Dylan looked at me with admiration in his eyes. "How long are you here for? Aren't they going to want you back when the season starts again or something..."

Dylan started to grin at me, and looked at the strand of hair that had gotten into my eyes. Looking at me, he pulled the strand away from my eyes. "How does forever sound?"

"What?!" I looked up, grinning like the cheshire cat from _Alice in Wonderland_. "Are you serious?"

"Very. My parents pulled some strings apparently," Dylan said, kissing my softly. "And when the fall semester starts, I'll be a student, and a college hockey team member right here."

"How is that even possible?" I asked. "What about Switzerland, your hockey career..."

Dylan held the back of my head, and kissed above my eyebrows. "I can't do that again. I love hockey, Marco. But I love you so much more. I'm not letting hockey separate you from me again."

"Dylan..." I started to say, leaning into his face. "I missed you so much..I tried to be okay, I really did. I guess I'm just trying to say that I love you, so so much, and these past months have been hell without you." I kissed him passionately, both of us kissing the other with an incredible amount of emotion, as the rain kept falling on us.

Dylan leaned me back on the top of his Camaro. "Being away from you was pure hell, Marco. Hell in disguise almost. Yeah, it was a great experience and all, but I paid a horrible price." Dylan said, hovering an inch above me, touching the raindrops that fell on my face, as it continued to pour down.

I didn't mind the rain, I liked it actually. Never mind that being kissed in the rain was a fantasy of mine, and it was just as good, if not better, than I had imagined.

"God, I love you," I said, looking deep in his eyes.

"I love you more."

"Jerk," I laughed, as he pinned me down on his car and started to _really_ kiss me. He started soft and slow, but then loosened his grip on me, and I soon started to roam my hands down his back. I kissed him intensely and hungrily at the same time. He had opened my mouth with his tongue so he could explore my mouth. I had forgotten how good it felt to have Dylan's lips on me, kissing me.

My hands were tossed in his hair, feeling the wet, curly strands through my fingers. We started to kiss each other's mouths with our tongues, and both of us were quite hungry for the other, as we hadn't kissed the other in 6 months.

In the back of my head, I knew we were on the top of Dylan's car. But something about that made it almost erotic. I was on display for the whole world to see, as I made out with the boyfriend I had missed so much.

He pulled me up to a sitting position, and we looked into each other's eyes, so glad that we no longer had to deal with the devil that was long-distance. Rain continued to fall on us, but we didn't care. If anything, it just made everything more romantic.

Dylan looked lovingly in my eyes, hair damp with rain falling from his curls. I don't think I ever loved him more in that moment. He placed his hands on the back of my head, going through my dark hair. His head inched closer to mine, his lips as close as they could without them kissing mine. I looked into his eyes, and we just breathed, taking in the moment, sighing with relief that my heart could finally be complete. He looked at my lips, spattered with rain, and leaned closer and he gave me a short, but oh so sweet, small kiss. I grinned at him when he let me go, and pushed his lips closer to mine, and kissed him passionately and with as much heat as I felt in that romantic, rainy moment.

* * *

**A/N**: The inspiration for this last scene was seeing the live video of the Goo Goo Dolls' song, Iris. It's a concert where it started to rain, and the band continued to play. 


	10. Marco's Hot Shower

**Author's Note**: Something new, written from Dylan's perspective. Read & review!

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I don't think I had ever been more in love with Marco Del Rossi than at that moment. While part of me might have just been missing him from all the adrenaline, the anticipation of seeing him after a six month absence, I truly missed everything about him. His arms, hands, his eyelashes, and his sweet, soft lips. I missed just the feel of him next to me. My hands were combed through his thick hair as I continued to kiss him on the hood of my car in the rain. We had both mentioned awhile back wanting to make out in the rain, but never had been able to put that desire in practice. It was so much hotter than I had imagined. I continued to kiss him fervently, and I pushed my tongue past his moist lips. God, I loved the taste of him. I stopped for a second, when I started to feel Marco shiver under me.

As hot as this scene was, I neglected to think how realistic this really was. Marco got cold so easily, and he was starting to shake more violently from the cold, despite the heat we had created. We had been making out on my car for five to ten minutes easily, all while rain continued to pour down on us. Both of us were fairly soaked, but the colder temperature in combination with the moisture started to take a toll on Marco's body.

I smoothed his hair, which had grown several inches since I saw him last. I kissed him gently on the forehead, before leaning closer to him.

"Come on, let's get you inside," I whispered to him, picking him off from the hood of the car, and setting him on the ground.

He didn't say anything, as he was too cold to even form words. I put my arm around him and pulled him close as we walked up the house.

Once we were inside, I grabbed his hand and lead him upstairs. I had only been in the house for about 10 minutes with Paige before Marco showed up. I hadn't even been upstairs yet. I opened the door to his room, and I stood back in shock. It looked more like my room than Marco's. It looked like an avalanche had erupted in his room. Clothes and books were thrown everywhere. Evidently Marco had become a slob while I was gone. Marco wasn't messy. Marco was orderly, neat, organized, and kept a very clean room. This was...well, interesting to say the least, but I needed to get Marco dry and cleaned up.

I dragged him to the bathroom, and closed the door behind us. I sat him on the toilet seat, and inched down to his level. I leaned in to kiss him sweetly. He lower lip was quivering, and even though he was still incredibly cold and shaking, he kissed me back the best he could.

"D-D-D," he stammered, trying to get words out.

I had to get him warmed back up and in fresh clothes, as I was afraid he would get sick if he stayed in the clothes that he had on, which were almost drenched head to toe.

"Shhhh," I said, putting my finger over his lips. I reached above to get towels out of the cabinet, and started to dry his hair out, drying him off the best I could.

"Let me take care of you," I whispered to him, looking into his chocolate eyes. His eyes slightly glimmered into mine, making me want to melt. I looked away, and drew back the shower curtain next to us. I turned on the shower and let the water start to run so it would warm up.

Marco was still shivering. Nothing I did seem to help, so I figured a warm shower would get him back to a normal body temperature. I started to undress him, which took more effort than I thought it would. Most of his clothes were stuck to his body like glue, as the rain had made his clothes stick to his skin. His shoes and socks were drenched, and I removed them quickly. He raised his arms up as I slowly moved his shirt upwards.

I kissed him again, hoping to get some warmth into him. His lip was still shaking, but considerably less than before, which I took as a positive sign. I closed my eyes shut and kissed him again. I felt him try to kiss me back, but he was having trouble, as he was so cold. I simply put my hand on the back of his neck, reaching closer to him and kissing him full on the mouth.

It was hard for me to express to Marco how much I had missed him, and how I loved him, so much. I had thought of this moment ever since I left for Switzerland six months ago. Every day, Marco was in my thoughts. How much I missed him and wished I could just hold him. Now that the moment was there, I didn't know how to express myself. I broke the kiss, but was still lost in my thoughts. Marco could read me like no one else ever could, and he just looked in my eyes, and I knew that he had figured that I was thinking. Despite his constant shivering, he put his arms around my neck, and hugged me. It was so simple, just a hug. But it's all I needed. Despite the fact Marco felt like a block of ice, he was able to give me warmth. I released a deep breath of air, relieved.

I kissed him sweetly, and sat him back down. The shower must have been warm by now, but checked inside the shower curtain to make sure. I undid his belt, and started to slide his jeans off. At least I tried to. His jeans were still very wet from all the rain, and they seemed to be attached to Marco's skin. It took about five minutes of sliding his jeans off extremely slowly, but they were finally off.

I started to leave the bathroom so he could take his shower. He reached out to grab me, and when I looked at him, he just whimpered.

I disheveled his hair. "Take a shower, warm up," I told him. "I'm just going to get you some clean clothes."

He gave me that look. That look I hadn't seen in a very, very long time. It was the look that Marco had when he wanted me to join him. I winked at him, and turned around to leave. I heard Marco groan as I started to leave. I closed the door slowly behind me, hearing Marco move the shower curtain.

I had forgotten about the avalanche that I had left. I had to find my way around the junk on the floor to get to Marco's closet. It was barely recognizable as Marco's room. Books, papers, and clothes were strewn everywhere on the carpeted floor. I finally made my way to his closet and found his clothes. Some of my hockey jerseys and clothes I had left were still hanging next to his clothes. I smiled to myself.

I laid Marco's clothes on the top of a short bookcase near the bathroom door as I took my shoes and socks off. I stripped down to my boxers before grabbing his clothes and entering the bathroom. I was able to enter without a sound. I knew Marco didn't hear me come in. I sat his clean clothes on the toilet seat, and took my boxers off. There was a small opening at the end of the shower curtain, and I quickly stepped behind Marco, wrapping my arms around him. He jumped slightly, but relaxed when he knew it was me. From the looks of it, he was almost finished with his shower. He wasn't shivering anymore, and was quite warm to the touch.

I leaned into his face and kissed him hard on the mouth. I missed his kisses, the feel of his lips on mine. It was pure ecstasy at times. I deepened this kiss, lighting touching his bottom lip with my tongue. I continued to kiss him passionately, as the water from the shower head poured on us, leaving droplets of water on our skin.

"Mmm," Marco started to moan.

I broke the kiss, and kissed him on the cheek. I started to breathe on his neck. He leaned his head back into my shoulder. He turned his head slightly so he could look at me.

"I love you," he told me, pushing one of my curls behind my ear.

"I love you more," I replied.

"What? You can't do that..that's against the rules."

"What are you going to do about it, Del Rossi?" I teased, as I let go of him and turned him around so he was facing me.

He paused, looking at me, smiling. "Just love you, I guess."

And loved me, he did. He leaned in to kiss me. Marco was such a passionate kisser. I could kiss him for the rest of my life and be perfectly content. He moved his hands around my hair, deepening his kisses at the same time. I leaned Marco backwards, so his back was on the back wall of the shower. He wrapped his legs around my waist as I did this, while continuing to kiss me with slight tongue, but yet soft at the same time.

I cradled his neck, stopping to kiss him all over his face. I kissed him everywhere, from his eyelashes to his chin. "I missed you so much..." I trailed off.

He looked up at me. "I missed you more."

I grinned at him, leaning down to kiss him softly on the lips. "You think you're funny, don't you?"

He smirked back at me.

I looked lovingly into his eyes. "I'm never leaving you again."

I kissed him in between his eyes on the top of his nose. "I don't know how to prove to you how much I missed you or how much I love you...I just know the these last months have been horrible.."

"Dyl." Marco looked into my eyes. "You don't have to. Just stop talking."

"What?" I was puzzled.

He leaned forward and frenched me hard, but yet loving at the same time.

"You don't have to explain. I love you, and your heart. You don't have to say anything." Marco said to me, He leaned forward and licked my top lip with his tongue. He could drive me absolutely wild at times. He leaned in closer to me, touching my face. "I love you, Dylan...so much...but just shut up and make love to me."


	11. Loving Marco

My blood was starting to boil. How my body temperature had gone from freezing to almost burning in under an hour, I had no idea. I blame it on the hot blonde hockey player that was kissing me passionately against the bathroom wall at the current moment.

He had always gotten me unbelievably hot, but after a six month absence, who could blame me. I had missed him so much, and I had to show him just how much I loved him through my kisses.

My legs were wrapped around his waist at the time, as my eyes were clinched tight as our lips melted together with my fingers wrapped in his hair, which was damp from the shower. He started to pull away from the kiss teasingly, puling my bottom lip towards him. I closed my legs tighter around his waist, trying to give him the signal I wanted more. I know he knew what I wanted, but he kept teasing me anyway. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips, before going down my neck with his tongue.

He stopped to look down on me and his hands went through my hair. He patted my hair lovingly and looked into my eyes, while I unwrapped my legs and stood, before hugging me close. The warm water of the shower was still on. He turned it off with his foot, as he opened the shower curtain, and grabbing some towels.

If we lived alone, I think we would have gone stark naked into the bedroom. Since I didn't know where Paige was, it was better to be safe than sorry, as I don't think we locked the door. We dried off some, before we wrapped towels around our waists. Dylan grabbed me, laughing, and started kissing me against the wall near the bathroom door. He smiled that smile he does when he gets extremely giddy. I couldn't help smiling myself either, as I was just as giddy that I had Dylan back.

He lightly put a hand on my neck and grinned at me, as he nuzzled my neck. I reached up to him and kissed him on the lips tenderly. I was still in shock that Dylan was actually here, in front of me, half-naked and kissing me back.

"Hmm," I said, enjoying the moment.

"I missed you so much," Dylan said, sighing. I brought his face back down to me again, and kissed his open mouth. He grabbed my hands in front of him, opening the door that connected our bathroom to the bedroom. He reached to lock the door with his other hand enclosed in mine. Before I had time to react, Dylan had untied my towel from my waist and had pushed me on the bed in a matter of nanoseconds. I was sprawled out for all to see, but thankfully the only person I wanted to see was grinning at me. He admired me for a several moments, stark naked and on the bed. I was getting quite into the moment, and my legs spread wider, giving my hockey hunk a better view.

All the sudden, Dylan was on me, kissing me boldly, fierce, and lovingly all at the same time. He reached up to intertwine our fingers together. I reached up to kiss him alternating between sweet, small kisses to kissing him hard on the mouth with my tongue out of control.

We were both starting to moan, and he moved my legs so they wrapped around his waist. Much to my disappointment, I found Dylan's towel still wrapped around his waist. I broke the kiss to look down to make sure.

I groaned loudly in disappointment. I tried to motion to Dylan with my leg trying to slide down the towel.

"Mmph," I groaned louder, as Dylan was marking my neck and shoulders with kisses.

"Hmm?" Dylan asked.

I tried to use my knee to slide his towel down, but had no success. I whimpered at Dylan towards the towel.

Dylan started to play dumb.

"Something wrong?" He asked, innocently.

"Off!" I demanded.

"I'm sorry," Dylan said, breathing so close to my neck, without touching it. God, he drove me crazy, something I had desperately missed. "I don't understand."

"Dyyylllll," I somehow got out as he grabbed my neck with his mouth, kissing me.

I just wanted to see him. I didn't get a very good look in the shower. He kept tormenting me by hiding himself from me. I couldn't take much more at this rate. Because, well, my libido was steadily rising, and it was, well, _Dylan_ in front of me, the only one I loved with everything I had.

I still couldn't believe he was in front of me. I lifted his head up from my neck and leaned forward to kiss him thoroughly. My eyes were squinted shut, taking every breath in the moment in. He kissed me back slowly and tenderly, savoring the moment.

"How do I know this isn't a dream?" I wondered out loud.

Dylan stood us up, our knees touching the sheets on the mattress.

"Because it isn't, Marco," he said, looking deep into my eyes, playing with my hair that was still damp. "I'm really here, okay...and I'm not leaving, I'm here for good."

I must have still looked uncertain, because Dylan moved towards my lips to kiss them fiercely, almost with anguish. He broke our kiss, and looked down on me again, his hand sliding down my arm to my hand.

"And if you still don't believe me," Dylan whispered erotically in my hear. "Just feel this."

All the sudden, Dylan had pulled the towel that was covering him off, throwing it on the floor in a swift motion. He covered his groin with my hand, making it incredibly hard to even breathe.

"Oh,_fuck_ me," I whispered, my eyes fluttering, trying to control myself.

"I think I will," Dylan grinned at me, flipping me over so I was looking down on him.

I giggled, perfectly content, as I was in the arms of the man I loved.

"Mmm," Dylan murmured, kissing me over and over again, gently. "I missed my Marco."

I opened his mouth with my tongue, and kissed his lips. After some preparation, I moved my hands up his arms. I laced my fingers through his as he entered me. I was in heaven again, as I squeezed Dylan's hands through mine, and kissed him slowly and sweetly.

Everything was slow, romantic, passionate, and above all, loving. It wasn't the wild, horny sex I expected when Dylan returned. I loved it either way, but the slow way Dylan made love to me made me feel full again. It's what I needed, what he needed. All my doubts and uncertainties from Dylan's absence were erased. Nothing had changed, I knew Dylan still loved me. More than love, if that was possible. Because I was more than in love with him, too.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews. Thanks to them, I got a chapter up quicker. This chapter was not originally planned, but due to some reviews, I decided to put this one in. Want more? Review!!! 


	12. Paige's Breakfast

It smelt like bacon. That was the smell that woke me up that morning. I was perfectly content, warm and snugly in my bed. But it's quite hard to resist the smell of bacon. And coffee. And eggs. And who knows what other godly breakfast foods Paige was cooking up in the kitchen. Paige hadn't cooked breakfast in awhile, and it was a pleasant surprise. I wondered why she was making breakfast. She had become extremely lazy lately, and had not been cooking like she used to. Which meant my diet consisted mostly of coffee, snack foods, and frozen pizzas.

But I was so warm and cozy in my bed, I ignored the good smells from the kitchen. I went back to sleep, resting on my stomach, with my head in my pillow. What felt like not long after, I felt someone trying to wake me up, shaking my shoulder. I was still 70 asleep, so I muttered something to try to get the person to go away.

"Cinque nuovi minuti (Five more minutes)," I muttered, not realizing I was speaking Italian.

"Wachen sie auf (Wake up), baby."

That wasn't English or Italian. But I recognized the voice, and smiled as everything came back to me. Kissing Dylan in the rain on the top of his car, almost getting sick from getting so cold, and him "warming" me up in the shower. It wasn't a dream. It was all true. I had Dylan back, and he was here, right next to me. I smiled into the pillow, as I turned my head to look at him.

He had his head to the side, looking at me, admiringly.

"That wasn't English, Dylan."

"Um, well neither was yours," Dylan pointed out.

"What are you talking about? I asked for five more minutes."

"You may have, but it wasn't in English, Del Rossi."

"Oh, whatever," I said, not believing him. I went back to my pillow.

"Mmaaarrccooo," Dylan purred, rubbing his nose on my left cheek, breathing into my neck ever so close, and pecking the skin behind my ear, knowing I was ticklish there.

"Oh no," I said, realizing what he was doing. "No, no, no..." I was fighting the urge to laugh, as it was hopeless, as it was starting to really tickle, and a fit of giggles escaped from my lips.

"You are so cute when you do that," Dylan said, kissing my neck.

"Sto-oppp," I said, laughing.

"What? You're not ticklish here."

The smell of the bacon was starting to get stronger. Mmm, that wasn't just any bacon. That was crisp bacon.

"Bacon!!" I exclaimed, turning around towards Dylan, kissing him swiftly.

"Oh yeah," Dylan said. "Paige is probably cooking."

"Bacon!!!" I got out of the bed excitedly, pulling the covers off, yet forgetting I was butt naked.

Dylan tried to hide his laughter.

I scowled at him. "Not a word, Michalchuk."

"Come on," he told me. "How could you not know you didn't have clothes on?"

I usually had some kind of pants or something on when I went to sleep. Unless--oh.

"Don't you?" I asked, slightly confused.

"No," Dylan said. "See?"

Dylan pulled back the sheets quickly.

"Dylan!!" I yelled.

"What?" He asked me, clueless.

"Don't do that! Cover yourself up," I told him, turning away quickly, reaching for my clothes. "Don't show me...you." He knew what he was doing. Ugh. He knew just how to get me. So sneaky.

He laughed. "What for?"

I glared at him out of the corner of my eyes, putting some pj pants on, not wanting to get dressed for the day just yet.

"Because, it makes me want to do things," I told him, finding my shirt. "Why am I even telling you this? You know damn why!"

Dylan crossed his arms, and giggled to himself.

"Oh, you think you're real funny, don't you?" I pulled my shirt over my head. "Haha - Marco's horny for Dylan, haha."

Dylan scooted to the edge of the bed so he could reach me. He pulled me down on him, kissing me hard.

"Goes both ways, babe." He said, looking in my eyes. He gave me a small peck on my lips, then pulled me off of him. "Go eat, I need to shower anyway."

* * *

"Oh, Paigey," I said, in a sing-songy voice, walking down the stairs. 

"Hey, Marco," Paige smiled, seeing me stand at the entrance of the kitchen.

"Do I smell bacon?" I began to sniff. "Crispy bacon?"

"Yes, and eggs, scrambled, of course," Paige said, pointing to the eggs, on the table. "And the waffles should be ready in about, 3 minutes."

"Waffles!" I jumped up and down in glee. I grabbed the funnies, and sat down at the table, I grabbed a plate, as Paige had the eggs and bacon on a lazy susan. I filled my plate, with some eggs, but mostly bacon. I loved bacon, as did Paige.

"Hey!" Paige said loudly, getting my attention.

"What?" I mumbled, with my mouth full of bacon.

"Save some for me, and Dylan."

"Dylan?" I said, trying to act like I didn't know my boyfriend was back.

"Oh, don't pretend with me Marco," Paige said, opening the waffle iron.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Marco, I'm his sister," Paige pointed out, turning the waffle. "I know things."

"Oh, like what?" I asked nonchalantly, paying more attention to the comics than what Paige was saying.

"Like how you were cuddled up in your bed last night."

I looked up at her, a little creeped out. "Ok, stalker."

"I wanted to see how everything was," Paige told him. "You looked so sweet, all snuggled up together."

"Wait," I said, looking up at her. "Our door was closed...how do you know we weren't, well, occupied?"

"Alex didn't drop me off until late," Paige said, putting a waffle on a large plate. "I would have heard something if anything was going on."

"What makes you so sure?" I inquired, getting up to get syrup out of the pantry.

"Um, well," Paige said, putting the plate of waffles on the lazy susan, before going back to the waffle iron to make more.

"Well, what?" I asked, sitting back down at the table, getting a waffle.

"Sometimes, you're quite, um," Paige stammered, embarrassed. "Well, _loud_."

_Loud_? I was not loud. Paige didn't know what she was talking about. Enthusiastic, yes. Loud? Never.

"What? Paige, you're crazy. I'm not loud." I stuffed my mouth with more waffle. She might not know what she was talking about, but boy, she made one damn good breakfast.

"Oh, ok," Paige shrugged.

"Actually, you're quite loud," Alex said, coming out of the sliding door to Paige's room.

"Oh, whatever, Nunez."

Alex sat down at the large breakfast table as I went back to his comics, chuckling at some, while I continued eating my breakfast. I got so swept up in my newspaper I didn't even notice my boyfriend enter the kitchen from the back.

All the sudden, Dylan head was tucked into my shoulder, kissing my cheek.

"Hey babe," he said, leaning in to kiss me on my lips. He broke the kiss and started to go away, but not before I grabbed his give him my own kiss. God, he was just _scrumptious. _

"Mm," I smiled, ending the kiss. Dylan grinned at me, giving me a little peck on my nose.

Dylan turned to Paige, as I went back to my bacon. "Hey, Paige. What is it you are cooking up for us?"

"Well, there's waffles, eggs, and well, there _was_ bacon before your boyfriend devoured it all," Paige said, glaring at me, tapping her spatula to her hand.

I looked up at them, looking guilty at them. "What?" I tried to get out, but it was hard as my mouth was full of scrumptious bacon. "There's a piece left."

Dylan chuckled, walking over to me to slightly tingle at the back of my neck. "You get cuter every day, I swear."

"Dyl, get a plate. There's still waffles and fruit."

Dylan got a plate and started eating as he sat next to me. Paige got the last waffle out of the waffle iron, and set the remaining waffles on the lazy susan, and sat near Dylan.

Alex came in from the bathroom. I hadn't even noticed she had left the kitchen.

"Switzie! You're back!" Alex exclaimed.

Dylan cocked his eyebrow at Alex.

"_**Switzie**_?" He said, pronouncing the syllables slowly.

"What, you don't like my nickname?" Alex asked.

"No, no..it's very, um, Alex." Dylan told her.

"Aww, thanks!" Alex sat across from Paige, who started to drink her orange juice that was still on the table.

"Dyl, I have a question for you."

"Mm?" Dylan said, through a mouthful of waffles.

Paige paused. Uh, oh.

"Is Marco loud during sex?" Alex pitched in, being the blunt one.

I almost died. Dylan's started to cough, as he was chewing his food when Paige surprised him with this question.

"Paige!!" I scolded.

Alex started to laugh. "See, Paige & I think Marco can be quite loud when you two are...any who, Marco seems to be in denial of this fact. So, we want to know what you think."

I put my head in my hands. Oh, god, seriously...do they have to embarrass me like this?

Dylan started to rub my back. He knew how embarrassed I got at times.

"You two are really unbelievable. Paige, seriously, you're my sister! That's just..gross."

"I'm not asking about you, Dyl. I'm asking about Marco." Paige said, trying to defend herself.

"That really doesn't make much of a difference, Paige." I heard Dylan tell his sister, as I had put my head down on the kitchen table, trying to hid my mortified face.

"So, which is it?" Alex asked, not getting the hint Dylan didn't want to share his sex life with his sister.

"You two aren't going to let this go, are you?" He asked.

"Nope," they chimed in unison, smiling at Dylan.

"I haven't noticed, but-"

Dylan moved his hand up to my neck, his hint that it was okay to come up for air. He started to tickle my neck, which made me lift my head up quickly, to avoid being tickled.

"even if he is sometimes," Dylan continued, "I like it." He winked at me sexily. "Happy now?"

Paige smiled. "Yes, sorry."

I finished my breakfast, so went to clean my plate before sitting back down to the table, where idle chit chat was going on.

"So, Dyl, what are you doing today? Getting a haircut?" Paige asked Dylan.

"Woah!" I exclaimed. "Haircut?! Why are we cutting perfect hair?"

"It's getting insanely long, Marco. Don't you think it's a bit long?" Paige asked me.

"No! It's longer than before, yes, but that doesn't mean we need to go be rash and cut of perfectly good, gorgeous hair." I started run my hand through Dylan's curls.

"Sorry, sis," Dylan said. "But Marco's in charge of my haircuts."

"Ok, fine, whatever," Paige said. "But at least do something about the color, please. Can't you dye it to blend in with the blonde growing back in? It looks horrible like that."

"How do you suggest I do that, Paige? I'm not Vidal Sassoon."

"I'll take you to my stylist. She's always highlighting people's hair. I'm sure she will know what to do."

"Ok, fine," Dylan told his sister. "What do you think, Marco?"

"Sounds good to me. As long as it matches...right?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Yay!" Paige said. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"So, hey," Dylan started to ask. "Where's Ellie?"

* * *

A/N: Want more? Then, review! I don't know if those parts of Italian or German are right, I just looked it up with a language translator. 


	13. Dylan Finds Out

The room went silent. I looked from Marco to Paige, who were looking at their plates rather intently, to Alex, who was staring off into space.

"Ooookay, then." I said. "What's going on?"

The room grew even more silent than it already was. A sound started to appear, as a phone went off somewhere.

"Ooh, my phone!" Marco exclaimed. He got out of his chair as quickly as possible, to get his phone, that was on the counter. "Oh, it's Mom. I better take this," He said, looking at me apologetically.

Marco left to take his call in the other room.

"Ok, what was that?" I asked the girls. Paige started playing with her food. "Paige?"

She looked at me. "Can we talk about this some other time? I really don't want to get into this right now."

"Did something happen with Ellie? Why is she not here?" I asked.

"She's at her mom's..or Jesse's, I think. I didn't really care to ask," Paige said, bitterly.

I knew Paige and Ellie didn't get along that well, but I dropped the topic when I heard Paige's bitter tone.

"Ok, okay, I was just curious. We can talk about something else." I told her.

Paige took her plate to the sink, and started to wash it.

"Alex, did you want to come with me and Dylan to the hairdresser?" Paige asked.

Alex grimaced. "Um, no."

"Ok, ok, hon, just thought I'd ask." Paige said, coming to the table, to get my plate.

"I can do that, Paige," I told her.

"No, no, it's fine." Paige shook head.

Paige finished the dishes, and turned to me. "So, you ready to be blonde again?"

"I am blonde." I told her, matter-of-factly.

"Only your roots. Come on, the clock is ticking." Paige said, snapping her fingers.

I followed her into the living room, where Marco was still talking on the phone with his Mom.

"No, that's okay, Mom. I can make it." Marco said into the phone, holding up a finger, motioning to me and Paige to wait. "Uh huh. Ok, I'll see you then." He hung up the phone.

"My mom wants me to have lunch with her, so I can't come with you," he told me.

"Aww," I pouted.

"I know, it sucks," Marco said, coming closer to me.

"Marco, when did you need to leave?" Paige asked me.

"In about 30, why?" Marco looked at Paige.

"I'll get Alex to drive you."

"That's really not neccess--"

"ALEX!" Paige yelled, interrupting Marco.

Alex came out into the living room. "What?"

"Can you drive Marco to his parents' house?" Paige asked, grinning.

"But I'm sleepy--" Alex whined. "Can't Marco just drive my car?"

"Really, guys, I'm fine." Marco said.

"Here, take my car," Alex said pushing her keys into Marco's hand. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Dylan, let's go." Paige said.

"I'll see you later, right?" I asked Marco.

"I shouldn't be too long. And by the time I get back I'll have a hot, new blonde boyfriend." Marco grinned at me.

"Oh, yeah?" I smirked, enclosing my arms around him, picking him up. "Anyone I know?"

"Oh, most definitely," he said, kissing me on the mouth, grinning.

I kissed him back, grabbing his buttocks with my hands, steadying him on my waist.

"Mmm," I murmured into his mouth, caressing his lips with my tongue.

"DYLAN!!!" Paige yelled.

"What?!" I asked, pulling away from Marco, but not wanting to.

"Let's GO! NOW!"

"Geez, take a chill pill, Paige. The world isn't going to end if we don't leave right now." I told her. She was leaning against the door frame, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I'll be right there," I told her. I put Marco down. "I'll be back, babe. Love you," I kissed him bye.

"Love you, too," Marco said, kissing me back.

I smiled at him, before following Paige out the door.

* * *

"Seriously, Paige, what's going on with Ellie?" I asked Paige. 

We were at the hair salon, getting my hair blonde-ifyed. The hairdresser was working on my hair, trying to match the color from my roots to the rest of my hair. I wasn't really paying attention, but I knew it could take awhile.

Paige was sitting next to me, watching the hairdresser do whatever to my hair.

Paige sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you." She paused. "Ellie hasn't been the best roommate or the best friend lately."

"Oh?"

"Let's just say as a result of her actions, Marco and I asked her to stay with her mom or Jesse for two weeks to get her too cool down. She was driving us crazy, and her behavior towards Marco was just unacceptable."

"You do realize, I need more information than just that, Paige." I looked at her, in the corner of my eye.

"I don't know what's gotten into that girl. She is in complete denial or something. It's like she has a vendetta against you or something." Paige continued, spinning in the chair next to me. She always loved to spin in those chairs when she was little when we got haircuts with Mom.

"Wait- me?" I asked.

"Yes." Paige told me, sincerely. "She thinks since you didn't call that much that you gave up on your relationship with Marco--"

"Excuse me!!??"

"Calm down, hon. I'm not done yet. So she's been trying to set Marco up with any breathing male that she comes across."

"What!!??" I asked, getting angry.

"Cool down, Dylan." Paige put her hand on my arm. "It got Marco very upset. You would be proud with how he defended you. He loves you so much."

I blushed a little, smiling to myself.

"Anyway, she has been just unbelievable. She even tried to get him to pay attention to straight guys. And she never let it go. We both tried telling her to back off, but she never would. She wouldn't listen, she just kept on insisting. She even thought Mom & Dad should come and move the remainder of your stuff to the house."

I raised my arms in disbelief. Ellie and I were not best friends, by any means. But we had always gotten along. I was shocked, and angry at the same time.

"But Marco and I even talked to her, before I left for Switzerland, about our relationship. I don't understand why she would do that." I wondered, out loud.

Marco and I had made it clear when I left, that it was a joint decision between me and Marco for me to go to Switzerland. We said that were not going to up, and that it would be a long-distance relationship, however hard it would be, so I could pursue my hockey goals.

"I know. We mentioned that to her time and time again. Nothing got through that thick skull of hers. To tell you the truth, Dyl," Paige continued on, "I think the only thing that would make her shut up is you coming back."

"Well, it's a good thing I did, then." I retorted, still quite upset.


	14. What To Do About Ellie

A/N: I turned Dylan back to blonde because I like him better blonde. This was my little way of achieving that. If you want me to update review!!

* * *

My history professor had given us 3 chapters to read over the weekend. They were just such long chapters, I didn't feel like reading them. I'd much rather play with Dylan. Since he and Paige were still getting Dylan back to blonde, I might as well try to start reading the chapters. I kept flipping through all the pages I still had to read. 

I could hear Alex's snoring from downstairs. Seriously, I needed to get her one of those nose band-aid things that helped you breathe. I put my iPod on so I could tone her out and try to concentrate.

I had finished one chapter and was starting on the next when I felt my bed bounce.

Dylan had plopped on the bed next to me and was hugging me from behind, kissing my ear. I pulled my earbuds out of my ears, smiling.

"Hey, gorgeous," I said, looking back at him.

Dylan crawled across my back so he could lay next to me. I looked up at him, noticing his newly blonde hair. The hair place had done a good job.

"Hey, your hair looks good," I told him, fingering his locks.

"Oh, you like?" Dylan grinned.

"Oh, yes, I most definitely like," I said. "Seriously, it blends great, you even can't tell."

"So, Marco," Dylan said, as I laid back down. "Paige told me about the Ellie situation."

I immediately tensed.

"Woah, Marco." Dylan sat on the small of my back, touching my shoulders. "Your whole body stressed up immediately."

"God, Dyl, I really don't know what to do with her..her lack of respect, her obvious denial.." I put my face in my hands.

"Shh, baby.." Dylan whispered to me, as he started to massage my shoulders. "Just relax, or try to, at least."

A minute or two passed as Dylan stretched out my cramped muscles in my neck.

"Oh..wow," I murmured, mostly to myself, but I knew that Dylan could hear me.

Dylan was actually pretty good at massaging, but not many people knew this, and he only would do it for me.

"I know it wasn't easy for you. She's the last one I would expect to do that." Dylan told me, moving closer, and rubbing deeper into my back.

I was practically falling asleep at the touch of Dylan's fingers. Every time he touched my muscles, I melted. All my worries and stresses always seemed to fly out the window when Dylan was near.

"Mmm..."

He worked on my tense muscles in my back and shoulders for about ten minutes. It felt like heaven. He patted my back, and then moved to sit on his side next me.

"Sorry it took so long." He told me, apologetically.

"Huh?" I asked, not sure what he was talking about.

"I had to cool down a little before I came back. I was pretty pissed off after Paige told me about Ellie." He told me.

I nodded back, understanding.

"Just so you know, she still has to deal with me."

I smiled at my boyfriend, getting all defending. He was so cute when he got defensive of me. Dylan looked down, and intertwined our fingers together, holding my hand.

"I just want to tell you how proud I am of you." Dylan said, kissing my hand.

I looked at him, confused. "Proud of what?"

He kissed me on the cheek, smiling. "For sticking up for yourself, for defending me, and well," He told me, leaning closer to me, touching my hair. "For sticking up for _us_." He leaned in closer to my face to give me a very sweet kiss on my lips.

"Everytime I think about how much I love you, which by itself just overwhelms me, you always go and do something amazing, and it just makes me love you even more."

I blushed.

"It's true, Marco." He said, leaning down to look at my eyes.

"Stop! You're making me blush." I told him, blushing harder, looking down at our hands.

Putting his arm over my shoulders, Dylan squeezed me tight. "You will just have to face the fact that your boyfriend can't believe he got so lucky and landed the hottest, sweetest, cutest, and smartest guy on the planet."

"Ok, now you're just going overboard!" I said, looking up.

"No, I'm not," Dylan pouted. "Can't I tell my boyfriend I love him?"

Dylan started to smirk.

"Of course," I said, kissing him. "But if you wanted me to tell you that I love you, you didn't have to go to all that trouble. You know I love you. So, so, very much."

I wrapped my arms around his head, combing my hands through his new blonde locks. I kissed his mouth hard, diving my tongue in.

"Mmm," Dylan smiled, leaning me downwards on the bed, beginning an intense make-out session.

* * *

Dylan and I were laying on the couch, cuddled up, watching episodes of_Heroes_ that Dylan had missed when he was in Switzerland. I was in his lap, with his arms circled around me. He was so toasty and warm. I could really stay like this forever and be happy. 

I looked up at him, when he looked down on me and smiled at me sweetly. I put my hand around his neck and pulled his head towards mine, kissing him lovingly.

I broke the kiss and settled my head in the crook of his neck, as I reached to hold his hand.

"Hey, guys, are you in here?" I heard Paige say, as she walked into the living room. "Aww, aren't you two cute."

Paige smiled at us, and sat down on the couch by our feet. "Are you guys busy?"

"No, what's up?" Dylan asked, pausing the vcr with the remote.

"Marco, has Ellie called you?" Paige asked.

"No, why?" I asked.

"Listen to this." Paige said. "This is Alex's voicemail." Paige put Alex's phone on the coffee table. She put the speakerphone on and dialed her voicemail. The voicemail lady started to talk.

_You have no new messages. Saved message._

"_Hey, Alex, it's Ellie. Hope you're having fun without me! Just wanted to let you know I will be coming back Sunday. If you could let Paige and Marco know, I'd appreciate it. Bye!"_

I cringed. Ellie was so chicken she couldn't even call me or Paige. She had to call _Alex_.

"So, hon, what did you want to do?" Paige asked me.

"About what?" I questioned.

"Well, I mean, did you want to just let Ellie find out for herself or are you going to tell her that Dylan is back?"

I don't think Ellie would want to come back if she knew Dylan was back. I'm sure she wouldn't want to deal with his wrath. Her behavior may have been acceptable in her mind with Dylan gone, but I don't think even Ellie could rationalize her recent behavior with Dylan here.

"I really hadn't thought about it, Paige.."

"I know, Marco. But she would have come back eventually. As much as we don't want to deal with her again. It's been a nice little vacay though."

"Oh,_**very**_ nice," I agreed, as Dylan squeezed me closer. I nuzzled next to him.

"Thought it would be fun to see the look on Ellie's face when she first sees Dylan," Paige chuckled.

I raised my eyebrow.

"What?" Paige asked.

"You raise an interesting scenario, Michalchuk."

It would be great to see the look on Ellie's face upon seeing Dylan again, after all she had done. A great validation for me, an "I told you so," to Ellie.

"I mean, we wouldn't hide Dylan or anything, but if we just don't tell Ellie until she actually sees Dylan, well, that would be just..awesome."

"I do like that, plan, Marco. What do you think, Dylan?" Paige asked her brother.

"I like it..plus it serves Ellie right, and this way she will get hers." Dylan took his hand from my hand and started to rub my shoulders. "A little taste of her own medicine."

"Well, it's settled then," Paige said. "What are you guys watching?"

"Heroes," Dylan said. "Catching up what I missed."

"What episode are you on?" Paige asked. "Oh, this one, this one's good." Paige said, answering her own question, looking at the TV. "You don't mind if I join you guys, do you?"

"No, as long as you don't mind us making out at the commercial breaks." I told her.

"Why don't you just fast forward?" Paige asked, getting some pretzels that were in a bowl on the coffee table.

"We wouldn't get to make out then!" I exclaimed.

Dylan lightly giggled, kissing my ear.

Paige chuckled. "You guys are too much."

* * *

A/N: Ok, readers, I currently have ideas for just 2 more chapters. Have any ideas you want to see in this story regarding Marco & Dylan? Private message me those ideas, and I might extend this story. I don't want to end this story, but I'm running out of ideas. 


	15. Ellie's Payback

A/N: I apologize for the delay in this chapter. Been extremely busy lately. I hope you like the chapter, the title of the story comes into play in this chapter.

* * *

Marco was putting his shoes on, as he got ready for the day. Dylan had invited Marco to come to lunch with the coach at the university. Even though Dylan didn't really start playing for them in September, there was still a ton of paperwork to be done. There was also paperwork that had to be signed to make his transfer back to Canada complete. He really wanted Marco to come, so he could see first hand that he really was staying for good. 

"Babe, are you ready?" Dylan asked, poking his head inside the door.

"Yeah, just a sec," Marco asked, his eyes on his shoes, tying them.

Dylan patiently waited by the door, as Marco got his wallet off the nightstand, and headed towards Dylan. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Dylan.

"Wow," Marco said, licking his lips.

"What?" Dylan asked, frowning with confusion.

"Your hair is up, you never have it up." Marco told him.

Dylan's hair was in a neat ponytail, as his hair was long enough now to be put up. His blonde curls were tucked nicely into the elastic. Marco was quite turned on by this new hairstyle.

"Oh, yeah," Dylan said, touching his ponytail. "Felt like a change, I guess. Thought I'd try it up."

Marco started to smile seductively, as he walked closer to Dylan.

"Oh, no, Marco, don't give me that look." Dylan said, inching away from his boyfriend, after seeing the look on Marco's face.

"What? I'm not doing anything."

"You're giving me _the_ look, Marco. Don't think I don't know what you're doing," Dylan said, as Marco started to wrap his arms around Dylan.

"What am I doing, Dylan?" Marco asked as he looked up at Dylan, touching his ponytail, lightly breezing his fingers through the curls. "Can't I kiss my boyfriend?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

Dylan was interrupted by a pair of full lips crashing down on his, forcing his lips to open.

"Oh, my," was all Dylan could muster out, as his Marco was kissing him crazily.

"Marco, baby, no, we're going to be late," Dylan said, ending the kiss. "We really have to go."

"You're no fun," Marco whined.

"Do you want me to get sent back to Switzerland? That's what they'll do if I don't get our butts down there and sign those papers." Marco's eyes went wide.

"Okay, okay. You don't have to scare me like that. I'll behave," Marco said defensively, raising his hands up. "You're just really hard to resist right now."

Dylan opened the door, and Marco followed him. Marco spun Dylan around, kissing him hard on the mouth, before giving him a ever so sweet kiss on the tip of Dylan's nose. Marco smoothed Dylan's hair, leaning in close to Dylan's face, touching his ponytail. "I'll just have to ravage you later," Marco whispered to him, quite seductively. He smirked at Dylan, as his hands ventured down past Dylan's waist, giving Dylan a squeeze on his buttocks, before winking at his boyfriend and walking down the stairs.

"You think you're quite funny, don't you," Dylan said, following Marco down the steps.

"Maybe," Marco replied.

Marco locked the door once the boys were outside.

"Come on, sweet," Dylan said, kissing Marco's hand, before taking a hold of Marco's hand as they walked towards Dylan's car.

* * *

Ellie had moved back in Sunday afternoon, while Marco and Dylan were meeting with the hockey coach at University of Toronto. Alex was at the kitchen table next to Paige, helping Paige finish her paperwork so she could sign for classes at the university for the summer. 

A flaming red head suddenly barged through the kitchen door, carrying two bags of luggage.

"Hey guys!"

"Ellie." Alex said, looking over towards Ellie, who had sat her bags down. Ellie came rushing towards the kitchen table, wrapping one arm around Alex and the other are Paige.

"Ellie, what-- what are you doing!? No...hugging!" Alex said, trying to swat Ellie off, as difficult as it was as Ellie was squeezing the two girls into an Ellie sandwich.

"Ellie, come on, let go!"

"Sorry, I'm just happy to see you guys." Ellie was chipper than usual. Chipper than chipper, actually. "Well, I'm going to go unpack!" Ellie got her bags and went up the stairs.

Alex gave Paige a confusing look.

"What's she been smoking?" Alex stated.

They both hoped for Marco's sake that Ellie had gotten back to her normal self, but they weren't completely sure that would happen, even after taking in Ellie's new estatic state.

"I better text Marco," Paige said, getting out her cell phone, starting to tap the keys.

* * *

Dylan's parents had requested Dylan's presence for a couple days, as they hadn't had much time with him since he had returned home. The majority of the time Dylan had been back, he was with Marco, usually in bed. 

The situation had worked out perfectly, as Ellie had decided to come back home at that time. Marco and Dylan still hadn't moved Dylan's stuff back yet, which was sitting in the Michalchuk's living room, garage, as well as Dylan's old room.

Ellie had been behaving for the most part. She hadn't mentioned Dylan or setting Marco up with anyone so far. But Marco and Paige still thought it could be too good to be true. They didn't think Ellie had gone back to her old ways just yet. Though she was acting fairly normal, she was much chipper than she had ever been. Ellie wasn't ever really..chipper. They had hoped it wasn't some act Ellie was putting on.

Dylan hadn't gotten much sleep the past couple of days, as he had gotten used to sleeping with Marco on his side again.

That night, he slipped into the house, unnoticed, and into the room he shared with Marco. Ellie hadn't been there, or at least her car wasn't in the front or back of the house.

He closed the bedroom door slowly, not to wake Marco.

"Dylan, what are you doing?" Marco asked, his head still buried in his pillow.

"I couldn't sleep," Dylan said, throwing his shirt on the floor, and taking his jeans off, before slipping under the mattress next to Marco. "I can't sleep without you."

"Aww," Marco said, lifting his head to look at Dylan. "I can't either, babe. Why do you think I'm still awake?"

Dylan grinned at his boyfriend, slipping his arms in front of Marco's stomach, bringing him closer. Dylan hugged Marco to him, as he kissed him lightly and snuggled up next to him, falling asleep as he rested his head on their pillow.

The next morning, Paige came into their room. The two boys were both asleep, but it looked like Marco was starting to stir. Paige stood next to Marco on his side of the bed, lighting shaking his shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"Ellie wants you to help her study for your history exam/essay thing," Paige told me. "She almost came in here."

Marco looked up at Paige. "Oh, thanks."

Paige turned to leave, as Marco slowly moved Dylan's arms from his body.

"Mmph!" Dylan angrily murmured in his sleepy disappointment. It was hard for Paige and Marco not to giggle at Dylan's insistent disappointment, even in his sleep.

Paige laughed to herself, and left the room. Marco kissed Dylan on the forehead, covering Dylan up with the covers, as he left the bed.

* * *

Paige was finishing her registration paperwork at the corner of the sofa, as Marco sat in the middle of it, looking down at a stupid history book. Across from Marco was Ellie, sitting in a chair, gazing up at the ceiling. 

"So..." Marco looked up. He tapped his pencil on Ellie's open book in her lap. "Ellie, pay attention."

"What? Oh, sorry," Ellie said, coming back to reality. She grabbed a magazine and put it inside her book.

Paige raised her eyebrow at Marco. Marco just shrugged.

"Ellie?" Marco asked her.

"Yeah, yeah, in a sec," Ellie answered, waving her hand as to brush off Marco.

Marco readjusted himself in the couch, as he was now sitting with both is legs crossed at one another, Indian style. Marco was deep in thought, when he felt Ellie staring at him.

"What?" Marco asked, looking at Ellie.

"Nothing," Ellie paused. "I was just wondering...if maybe you would like to go to a movie this Friday...with me..Jesse...and Jesse's roommate, Robert."

"Who's Robert?"

"Jesse's roommate, who's his roommate, who's single-"

"Ellie." Paige spoke up.

"What?" Ellie asked.

"It's pretty clear what you are implying, hon." Paige said, putting her papers in her booklet.

"Marco, what do you think?" Ellie asked.

"I think you should leave Marco alone, and finish studying." Marco said.

Ellie went back to reading her magazine, and Marco gave an exasperated look to Paige. Paige excused herself, and went upstairs. Marco went back to studying the chapter he was working on. He wasn't going to let Ellie's little charade get in the way of his studies.

"Back," Paige said, sitting in the spot she left a few minutes before.

A few minutes passed, before Ellie started talking, while her head was still looking at her magazine about Brangelina and Bennifer. "Don't you want to come with us Friday, Marco?"

"No," Marco said, before Ellie had even finished asking the question.

"Robert is really cute, though," Ellie said looking up at Marco.

"No."

"Ugh," Ellie said, going back to her textbook, and putting the magazine aside. "Why not?"

Before Marco could react, he felt a hand on the back of his neck, and suddenly Dylan was kissing him, upside down. Dylan was standing behind the couch, leaning forward into Marco's face, kissing him hungrily. Ellie didn't look up or even notice Dylan, as she was in her own little world. Dylan opened Marco's mouth with his tongue, exploring Marco's mouth with want. Marco took a hand and moved it through Dylan's blonde curls, kissing him back hard with anguish.

"Probably because he already has a boyfriend," Dylan said, reluctantly releasing Marco.

Ellie looked up at the sound of a voice. When she Dylan, her eyes grew wider than anyone had ever seen Ellie's eyes get. She was tranced at that moment, frozen at what she saw.

Paige was still where she was before, smirking. Marco was breathing quite heavily from the hot kiss he was just given, wanting more upside-down kisses. Dylan stood behind the couch, with a hand on each of Marco's shoulders, rubbing them. Though he was loving what he had just done and felt with Marco, Dylan had a very stern look on his face.

"What-How-When-Europe-Hockey-Gone," Ellie blabbered all at once.

"All good questions, Nash. We're going to have a serious talk about your recent, shall we say, ideas...but right now, I'm horny as hell, and I'm going to have hot sex with _my_ Marco." Dylan then picked up a very giggly Marco up in a sweep and carried him up the stairs. "And Ellie, I can almost guarantee that we will be, very, very, loud. So you might want to cover your ears."

* * *

_Want more? Well, click that little button down there & review!_


	16. Loud Sex & Interruptions

**A/N: **Sorry this chapter is so late in getting up. This will be the last chapter before the New Year.

Happy Holidays!

* * *

"Wh-What was that?" Ellie asked Paige, as she heard the door to Marco's room close.

"What did it look like, hon?" Paige asked.

"What is he doing here? He's supposed to be in Switzerland!" Ellie exclaimed frustrated, standing up.

"What does it matter, Ellie?"

"Be-Because!" Ellie sat back down, looking at the floor, with her hands in her hair. "Oh, my god...what did I do?"

Ellie brought her head back up. "I-I really thought he was gone...from Marco's life. I-I oh, no.."

A loud giggle came from up the stairs, clearly Marco. A thumping sound came after that, followed by loud moans.

"What was that?" Ellie asked.

"Did you not listen to what Dylan just said?" Paige asked, impatiently.

Huh?," Ellie asked, before realizing what was happening. "You mean, they're having _**sex**_ up there?"

"Duh," Paige replied.

"I don't want to hear that!" Ellie exclaimed. "How can you sit down here and listen?"

"Normally, I don't, and they usually aren't this loud. But they haven't seen each other much this week, making them extra frisky, which makes them louder. But," Paige said, leaning closer to Ellie's face, "seeing that look on your face, knowing my brother is pounding Marco senseless, after you tried to set him up with other people so many times?"

Ellie looked at Paige, disgusted.

"Priceless," Paige whispered, before getting up and leaving the room.

* * *

"Hey, Paigey," Alex said, coming into the kitchen from the outside door. 

"Hey, babe," Paige said, giving Alex a quick peck on the cheek.

"What are you cooking?" Alex said, noticing all the smells in the kitchen.

"Oh, just some cookies," Paige said, going back to her mixer.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh..." A load moan came from the living room.

Alex looked up, confused. "What was that?"

"Go take a look," Paige told her, motioning towards the living room.

Alex walked over to the side of the kitchen, that connected with the living room. Laying on the couch, was Dylan and Marco, making out quite heavily.

"Wow," Alex said, coming back to where Paige was cooking. "They sure are frisky. Weren't the at it all last night, too?"

"Oh, yes. They are trying to redefine the meaning of horny, evidently."

As much as Paige loved the fact her brother and Marco were happy, it took a little adjustment to seeing her brother squeeze Marco's butt while they were making out on the living room couch in clear sight.

"Marco's a little vocal sometimes, but they were both extremely loud last night. Who knows how many times they--"

"Nooooo!" Paige covered her ears. "I left the house for a reason. Really don't need the details of my brother's sex life," Paige told her girlfriend, pouring chocolate chips into the batter.

Alex grabbed a chair, and moved to the entrance to the kitchen. She sat in the chair, and started to watch. Paige looked up to see what Alex was doing, with confusion.

"What the--? What do you think are you doing!?" Paige exclaimed.

Alex leaned back to look in Paige's direction over her shoulder. "What?"

Alex shrugged. "I wanna watch the show!"

"My brother's make-out session is not a 'show,' but whatever."

"Not just a make-out session anymore," Alex giggled, as Marco started moving his hips up and down on Dylan's crotch.

"**Really** didn't need to hear that!" Paige exclaimed from the kitchen. "Seriously, Alex, please! Refrain from the details."

Dylan and Marco were sprawled out on the couch, tasting each other quite hungrily. Marco was on top of Dylan, mostly due to the fact to not gross out Paige as much. She really wasn't too keen on seeing her brother's ass grinding on top of Marco.

Since Dylan had been at his parents' house all week, both of them were quite oversexed. Though Dylan had made some of the comments at Ellie for gratification of the situation she had put herself into, Dylan really was that horny, as was Marco. They hadn't had a care in the world last night, and they just wanted to enjoy the other's company, no matter how loud it came out or who heard.

They also hadn't had the kind of sex they both secretly desired, and that's just the kind of sex that had last night. When Dylan came home, they had made love slowly and gently, but they had both been wanting something more demanding ever since, despite how great their first fuck was after Dylan returned. Part of the reason Marco and Dylan could be heard through the whole house was the nature of the raw, heated, and animalistic the sex was. When they made love, they weren't very loud at all, but having rough animal sex brought the vocal cords and pure horniness out in them.

Though both Marco and Dylan were quite satisfied from the night before, they just couldn't get enough wand wanted more. Marco had his hands nested in Dylan's blonde hair, while Dylan hands were plastered stuck on Marco's buttocks. They were both fully dressed, and had no intention of doing anything more than merely making out in the living room, but freaking out the girls in that the possibility of more might happen was always fun.

Marco sat up slightly, with his bare feet touching the couch, as he bent his knees and pulled Dylan forward. Marco wrapped his arms around Dylan's waist, as Dylan leaned forward to cup his cheek, as he kissed Marco's bottom lip seductively.

"Ohhhh, mmmm..." Marco murmured into the kiss. Marco moved his hands upward to cup his face, kissing him back harder. Marco pushed down on Dylan, so he fell back into the couch again. Marco wrapped his arms around Dylan's head, kissing him fervently.

Alex, who was watching the entire display, saw Ellie as she came down the stairs, and headed for the couch. She looked at the display that Marco and Dylan were putting on and slightly grimaced.

Ellie stopped in front of them, and crossed her arms at her chest.

"Marco," Ellie stated.

Marco didn't hear her, as he was deep in the throws of the moistness of Dylan's lips and kisses.

"Marco." Ellie said, a little louder.

Nothing.

"Mmm, oh, Mar-co..." Dylan sang, widening their kisses so their tongues could touch. Dylan loved kissing Marco any style, but his french kisses really drove him wild.

"Oh, baby..." Marco swooned.

"Marco!"

Marco swatted his hand, to make whoever that wanted to disturb his love fest go away.

Marco entwined his legs with Dylan's legs, and smiled during their kiss, thanking his stars that Dylan was back with him.

"MARCO!!!" Ellie yelled.

"Kinda busy here!" Marco said, as he rubbed noses with Dylan, giving him pecks on the lips.

"I need to talk to you."

"Can't it wait, El? I'm busy." Marco said, still not looking at Ellie.

"No, it can't!" Ellie exclaimed, grabbing Marco's hand, pulling him off Dylan.


	17. Arguments & Cookie Dough

**Chapter 17: Arguments & Cookie Dough**

* * *

"Hey!" Marco and Dylan said in unison, at Ellie.

Ellie took a hold of Marco's shirt sleeve, and pulled him into Paige's room, the only empty room downstairs.

"What the hell, Ellie!"

Ellie closed the door behind her, and turned around to face Marco.

"Sorry okay, but I had to get your attention, Marco."

"What is **so** important that you had to interrupt me! I don't interrupt you when you're making out with Jesse, do I?" Marco asked angrily.

"I haven't been able to get your attention. You're always with _him_." Ellie said.

"_**Him**_??II You mean my_boyfriend_! My God, Ellie, not this, not again." Marco sat on Paige's bed putting his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Why didn't you tell me he was back!" Ellie hissed at Marco.

"Why??! Why do you think??" Marco said, standing up to face Ellie.

"How long has he been back?" Ellie asked, her jaw clenched.

"A week." Marco said.

"You had a week to tell me Dylan was back, and you didn't! Why, Marco. Just why??" Ellie asked.

"It had nothing to do with you. Plus, the way you regard Dylan in my life really doesn't make me want to tell you anything regarding Dylan." Marco said.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Let's see, you wanting me to get over Dylan even though we were still together, you trying to set me up with every guy on the planet, gay or straight, you dissing my boyfriend right and left, do I need to go on?" Marco crossed his arms, looking at Ellie, still quite mad.

"Look, I misjudged I guess. I really thought it was over! I didn't think he'd come back." Ellie said, her voice wandering off. "I don't get it."

"You obviously have never been in love." Marco said. "Until you grow up and start accepting Dylan as part of my life, leave me alone, and leave us alone."

Marco stormed out of Paige's room, into the kitchen, where he crashed into Dylan's arms, who was tasting Paige's cookie dough.

Dylan wrapped his arms around Marco, holding him close, breathing in his scent. He moved one arm and started to rub his back with it, trying to sooth him, as Marco was slightly shaking.

"You okay?" Dylan looked into Marco's eyes, using his finger to move his face upwards.

Marco shrugged his shoulders.

Dylan then picked Marco up and sat him on the kitchen counter. He put his left hand on the counter, and whisked his other hand through Marco's hair, as he kissed him sweetly, yet lovingly.

The tiniest of smiles escaped from Marco's lips, even as a small tear was watering his eyes.

Dylan wiped the tear away, and leaned in close to Marco's face. "No tears, okay," he whispered gently.

Marco nodded. "You taste like cookie dough."

"Oh, you want some?" Dylan asked, grabbing a spoon to dish some cookie dough out for Marco. "Paige and Alex went to the bathroom, or somewhere, and I don't think there's going to much left to make cookies with after you and I finish with it."

"I love you," Marco said, looking into Dylan's eyes.

Dylan's eyes gleamed back at him, as he fed Marco a spoonful of cookie dough.

"I know. I love you, too," Dylan told him, kissing his forehead.

"Man, that cookie dough is good," Marco said, swallowing his first bite.

"I know, and she just left it here, all out in the open!" Dylan said, getting another spoon. "Silly Paige."


	18. Marco's Forgiveness

_**Author's Note**: This is the final chapter for "My Marco." This was my first story, and this is the story that got me to write Darco fiction. This was originally only going to be about 10 chapters, at the most. Due to the positive response I got from so many readers, I continued to write this. I am writing many more Darco stories now, and I have run out of ideas for this story. I have plenty of new ideas for "Del Rossi Nerves," and will be continuing to update that, along with some other one-shots. _

_I want to thank some people, that without them, this story would not be the length or quality it is today. First and foremost, kaitlinbell. It was her fiction that got me into thinking about the possibility of writing a story. I had never written any fiction before this story. Thank you so much for reading my first chapters, and helping me with the editing of some of the beginning chapters, as well as my first fluff piece. To puckbunnyxx, for her constant Darco support, and help in hockey terminology. To dylanfan87, who always gives me a review and has supported this story since its beginning. And of course to StrongatHeart, who is constantly bribing me with cookies for an update. Thank you as well to Anne, Haley Starlight, psumathgirl, javeygirl, marcolover, and all the wonderful darco fans (that I can't even begin to list) that keep this fandom alive, **even when the writers want to destroy it**._

* * *

**Marco's Forgiveness**

Dylan heard two pairs of footsteps slowly approaching the entrance to the kitchen.

"Oh crap, there's Paige," Dylan said, picking Marco off the counter, and quickly making a dash for the chairs around the kitchen table.

The two boys quickly sat down, just as Paige entered the kitchen, with Alex following close behind.

Paige smiled sweetly at the two as she passed them to finish her cookies, not noticing that Marco's mouth was full with cookie dough.

Paige came to halt, when she saw the bowl she left of cookie dough was half gone. Paige turned around and glared at the two boys, whose backs where to her.

She walked around to Dylan's side, and stared at him with her arms crossed, and noticeable scowl forming on her lips.

Marco and Dylan were trying to pretend they didn't know Paige was there, or what she was mad about.

When Paige cleared her throat, Dylan looked at his side, trying to act surprised she was there.

"Hey, Paigey! When did you get here?" Dylan said, a little too loudly and excitedly at the same time.

"Dylan," Paige said, trying not to raise her voice, leaning in towards Dylan face. "Where is the rest of my cookie dough?"

Dylan frowned, trying to seem confused. "Cookie dough?" Dylan shook his head. "I haven't seen any cookie dough."

"Marco?" Paige asked, turning to look at him.

Marco looked to his side, frozen, as he still had some cookie dough in his mouth. He swallowed, which was very noticeable, and then looked up at Paige. "No cookie dough here!"

"Open your mouth, Marco."

"No!" Marco stuck his tongue out at Paige, which still had remnants of cookie dough, and stains of chocolate.

"You boys!" Paige threw her hands in the air. "I leave for 5 minutes, and I come back, and its all gone."

"Is not, we let some," Marco told Paige, pointing to her bowl.

"What's the big deal? You can always make more." Dylan said. "Plus, we needed it."

"What for?" Paige rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Because Marco and Ellie had a fight and he needed cheering up." Dylan replied.

"That doesn't explain why _**you**_ ate the cookie dough, Dylan."

"Oh, um, well," Dylan stammered. "You see, it takes energy to cheer Marco up, and I needed more energy to complete that task, so I thought a sweet treat would give me said energy."

"The two of you," Paige said, slowly. "Are so full of crap!"

The door to Paige's door opened, as Ellie came out and passed everyone, without looking at anyone. Marco looked down at the floor, as his shoulders raised up in tension.

"So, I'm guessing the talk with Ellie didn't go too well?" Alex asked, speaking up.

"You could say that again," Marco muttered.

Dylan put his arm around Marco, rubbing his shoulder, as he kissed him above his cheek, below his forehead.

"I'm gonna go lay down," Marco said, as he got up from his chair.

He leaned down to kiss Dylan sweetly on the lips, before leaving the kitchen and going up the stairs.

* * *

After helping Paige cook the remainder of the cookies, Dylan made his way up the stairs. He peeked into the room he shared with Marco, to find his boyfriend sound asleep. He was lying on his side, on top of the sheets, still fully dressed. Dylan sighed, wishing that the situation with Ellie wasn't so tense. 

Dylan looked down the hallway to Ellie's room, which was halfway open. Deciding it was about time to get this out in the open, he walked towards Ellie's room, entering without even knocking.

Ellie looked up at the sound of her door opening from the history book she was reading. After seeing it was Dylan, she sighed, exasperated.

"What do you want?" Ellie said, quite rudely.

"You know, I was going to try to be civil towards you, but if you can't even do that, Ellie-"

"Look, I'm just a little agitated right now, ok?"

"Fine. But you had to know this conversation was coming." Dylan closed the door behind him and leaned against it.

"I really have nothing to say to you," Ellie said.

"So, you're not even sorry with the way you've been treating Marco?"

Ellie covered her head with her hands. She looked up at Dylan.

"I really didn't think you would come back," Ellie whispered.

Dylan moved to sit on Ellie's bed, facing the chair Ellie was sitting in. "Ellie, why on Earth would I not?"

"I thought you would be gone a couple years at least, I mean, it's hockey, right?" Ellie said. "And at the time, I didn't think what I was doing was wrong. I thought I was helping. I didn't know I was meddling. I thought my actions and suggestions was what was best for Marco."

"Ellie. First off, that's not how hockey works. You could be traded year to year. Some players do stay with the same team for years, but not always. I only signed with Switzerland for one season."

Dylan looked at Ellie, before he continued. "Ellie, look at me."

Ellie slowly turned around to face him. "I know you probably were trying to do what you thought might have been best, but ultimately, _Marco_ decides what's best for Marco. Not you, not me, not Paige, not his parents. _Marco."_

Ellie nodded, looking down at the floor. "I know, Dylan. He just seemed so sad, so lonely.."

"And I wasn't? Ellie, have you ever been in a long-distance relationship?"

"Well, no-"

"That's what they are like, you are lonely, and sad, and depressed 100 of the time. Just because something isn't easy, Ellie, it doesn't mean you give up."

"Dylan, I don't know what I was doing. I messed up, okay?"

"It just makes me incredibly upset that you would think that we weren't happy! Just because we are apart and sad, doesn't mean we aren't happy. Just the fact you bluntly ignored everything Marco and I said before I left just--." Dylan paused, before continuing. "You were around, you knew what was being discussed. You forget that I didn't want to go to Switzerland!"

"I-I-"

"No, El, let me finish, please," Dylan said, standing up.

Ellie closed her mouth, before looking up at Dylan, sheepishly.

"Don't you know that I thought about him every day, every hour, every minute, and every second I was over there? That I wasn't as fucking miserable as he was? That I had just barely gotten the love of my life back, and I was separated from him yet again? Do you even know how hard it is to concentrate on hockey when your mind is thousands of miles away? I'm trying to be patient here, but Ellie, what you did, was, well, it burnt. Not just because of what you did to Marco, but how selfishly you regarding my relationship with him."

Dylan paused to breathe, as he started to walk around the room.

"I don't think you realize how much I love him. I'd quit hockey for Marco. I seriously would. And I don't think you know what that means." Dylan looked at Ellie. "I've wanted to be a professional hockey player since I was 6 years old, Ellie. **Six**."

Ellie looked at Dylan, sheepishly.

"But I would give it all away for that Italian in there, in a heartbeat. And I'd do it over and over again. That's how much I love him."

Dylan sat back down, breathing hard.

"I know how much you love Marco," Ellie whispered. "There's no excuse for what I did to Marco, and to you."

Ellie looked up at Dylan, tears forming on her eyes.

"And I'm so, **SO** sorry, okay? The last month, I've been trying to cover up all my problems. I'm not trying to rationalize what I did, Dylan, I know what I did was wrong. I'm so hard headed that lectures from three people, and it still didn't sink in what I was really doing. I thought I was helping the entire time, when I didn't even know I was hurting my best friend." Ellie's tears started to flow down her cheeks.

"Ell-" Dylan said, as he moved closer to comfort her. Ellie leaned into Dylan shoulders to cry. "Look, Marco and I both love you, okay? Everything will be fine, we just want you to realize what you've been doing, because we don't think you have been too apparent of your actions. Marco is still your best friend, okay? He's just upset, but with some groveling and apologies, it will be fine, okay?" Dylan rubbed Ellie's back in comfort.

Ellie gave a small nod into Dylan's shoulder, as his sleeve got wetter with Ellie's sobs.

"You're definitely the cooler Michalchuk," Ellie told Dylan, lifting her head from his shirt.

"I definitely agree with that," Marco said, coming into the room, smiling at Dylan.

"Marco!" Ellie turned around to see her best friend, and charged into him, hugging him forcefully.

"El, El-" Marco said. "Ribs, ribs, Ellie!"

"Oh, sorry," Ellie said, detaching herself from Marco.

"It's okay," Marco said, sitting down next to Dylan.

Ellie turned around, seeing the dampness she left on Dylan's shirt. "Oh, Dylan, your shirt--"

Dylan looked down at his sleeve.

"I'm so sorry-"

"It's fine, El," Dylan shrugged.

Ellie sat back down at the chair behind her desk.

"Ellie, I just want to say that I agree with what Dylan said. I don't completely forgive you yet, but I can't stay mad at you, as long as you know what you did was wrong, and our issues with it."

"I really am sorry, Marco," Ellie looked down.

"I know you are, and that's all I needed," Marco told Ellie.

"Why don't I make it up to you, and we can go to Dylan's first hockey game together?" Ellie grinned.

"Um, sure..." Marco looked at Ellie oddly, before looking at Dylan, who was trying not to laugh.

"What?" Ellie asked them.

"You are welcome to take Marco to one of my games, Ellie, but you're going to have to wait awhile," Dylan told her.

"Oh, when's the next game, next week?" Ellie asked, looking from Dylan to Marco.

"El," Marco said, leaning close to her. "Dylan doesn't start hockey again until September."

"Oh," Ellie frowned.

"You really know nothing about hockey, do you, Nash?" Dylan asked, smiling.

"Nope!" Ellie laughed.

Marco turned to his boyfriend. "You'd really give up hockey for me?" Marco whispered.

Dylan looked down to Marco, pulling him closer to him with his arm. "Yes, and over, and over again."

"I'd never make you do that," Marco said, nuzzling Dylan with his nose.

"I know, but I would do it," Dylan said, nuzzling Marco's nose. "Because you're my Marco."

**THE END**.


End file.
